?
"Is that the Qing Army's Jiangbei Barracks?" Vézé asked. In Tiyao Shop, Vézé put down the monocular in his hand and said.
Immediately, a staff officer replied, "Chief of Staff … Prince Of Qi, that's not the Jiangbei Barracks yet. Qing Yao's Jiangbei Barracks is southwest of Yangzhou City. Tiyao Shop is a fortress built by Qing Yao to besiege Yangzhou City. "
Vézé originally didn't want the influence of official positions in the General Staff Headquarters, so he insisted that everyone call Vézé by his title in the General Staff Headquarters instead of Vézé's identity as a prince. But now that they were close to Tianjing City, it was not appropriate to maintain the title of Chief of Staff. The title of Chief of Staff was self-appointed by Vézé, while the Prince Of Qi was the "official establishment" given to Vézé by the Taiping Rebellion. Vézé had to use the title of Prince Of Qi in Tianjing City.
Although he knew about the long rampart, it was the first time that Vézé had seen this kind of defense facility. The long rampart was made of earth and was as high as an ordinary person's chest. At the exit of the long rampart, there were facilities such as barricades and wooden fences. The reason why it was like this was to make it convenient for the musketeers to put their guns on the long rampart and shoot. Moreover, there were some holes in the lower positions of the long rampart, from which the musketeers could extend their guns to shoot. They could also use the long guns to stab the enemies near the long rampart. This was a quite effective way of defense in the current era when cold weapons and musketeers existed at the same time.
According to the information obtained by the Taiping army, the Qing Army's Jiangbei Barracks and Jiangnan Barracks had built such long ramparts. They used this kind of thing to block the Taiping army's key road. Moreover, the Qing Army's troops were also stationed in the stronghold surrounded by the long rampart.
"No matter how I look at it, I don't think this thing can withstand the bombardment," Vézé said after observing it for a while.
"Prince Of Qi, I am also puzzled by the fact that these long ramparts are able to defend against the Taiping army." Ruan Xihao was even more direct than Vézé.
The General Staff Headquarters had never been able to understand why the Taiping army in Tianjing City was unable to deal with the Nanbei Barracks. Although the Taiping army in Tianjing City was indeed not as well-equipped as Vézé's troops, they had the food supply provided by Anhui Province. Their army numbered nearly a hundred thousand, yet they were unable to deal with the nearby Nanbei Barracks. This could not help but make people feel strange.
Vézé had never dared to ask the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, why didn't he send troops to destroy the Jiangbei Barracks. Now that he saw his subordinates were full of confidence, he was worried that they would underestimate the Qing Army and even the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, so Vézé said, "It is better to be safe than sorry. Let's attack this tile kiln shop and see how strong the defense of the Qing Army's long rampart is."
"Of course. The Fourteenth Division has always been very cautious in battle, "Lei Hu immediately said.
The other commanders looked at each other. None of them had expected Lei Hu to ask for permission to fight just like that.
"If you want to go, then go." Vézé smiled.
Although the tile kiln shop in the northwest of Yangzhou was called a shop, it was actually much larger than a normal town. In addition to being famous for its salt merchants, Yangzhou's porcelain manufacturing industry was also quite developed. Although the tile kiln shop might have made tiles in the past, it was now a large number of porcelain kilns.
The Qing Army guarding the tile kiln was Xiong Qi, a guerrilla officer under Jiangning General Tuo Ming 'a. The first time he heard of the Taiping army moving south was on the 8th of August. Tuo Ming 'a said that a group of Cantonese bandits were moving south along the canal. Apart from that, there was no other information. Xiong Qi didn't receive any orders on how to defend or how to fight.
The Taiping army didn't give Xiong Qi time to think. On the 10th of August, the Taiping army had already arrived outside the tile kiln shop. As a guerrilla officer, Xiong Qi was also qualified to be assigned the clairvoyant. Just the clairvoyant alone could see more than five thousand Cantonese bandits. As for the vaguely visible follow-up troops, who knew how many more were there. Xiong Qi only had two thousand men under his command. No matter how he looked at it, they weren't a match for the Cantonese bandits.
Seeing that things weren't right, Xiong Qi's guerrilla officer rolled his eyes and thought of a solution. "Someone, order those platoon commanders to attack!"
"Sir, can those platoon commanders be of any use?" Xiong Qi's guerrilla officer's order was questioned by the deputy general.
"You think I don't know if they're of any use?" Xiong Qi's guerrilla officer retorted.
Such a straightforward answer had great destructive power. The deputy general immediately shut his mouth and no longer questioned Xiong Qi's guerrilla officer's order.
There were seven to eight hundred platoon commanders in the tile kiln shop. They were an army funded by the rich people in the town. Everyone in the platoon knew very well that the reason they spent money to form such an armed force was not to fight the Taiping army, but to defend against the Qing Army. Yangzhou was a land known to be rich and fertile. Ever since the Qing Army's Jiangbei Barracks was established, they hadn't fought much with the Taiping army. Most of their energy was focused on plundering the land.
Knowing that the Qing Army had ordered them to fight the Taiping army, this platoon commander naturally refused. Xiong Qi didn't want to reason with this platoon commander. He squinted at the head of the platoon commander and suddenly sneered. "Hmph! You dare to disobey orders? Men, escort them to the frontlines! "
The two thousand men of the Qing Army had already gathered. The platoon commander only had seven to eight hundred people. Because they had come in a hurry, many had not brought their weapons. The Qing Army had guns, swords, and spears in their hands. In a moment, they had captured the platoon commander and forcefully pushed them to the frontlines.
"Lord Xiong, it's useless to let them fight!" The deputy general couldn't help but remind him again. It was obvious that the two thousand Qing Army couldn't withstand the Taiping army's attack. What use could these seven to eight hundred platoon commanders who had no will to fight?
Xiong Qi glared at his deputy general in exasperation. He ordered unhappily, "Men! Burn the town! "
Hearing this order, the deputy general jumped up like a startled dog. "Lord, what is the meaning of this?"
Xiong Qi replied, "What is the meaning of this? Order your men to burn the town while shouting that the Cantonese bandits are attacking. Then all of our troops will immediately run south? "
After all, the deputy general was Xiong Qi You Ji's partner for some time. After listening to the complete order, he no longer refuted. Instead, he praised Xiong Qi You Ji's wisdom and decisiveness in handling matters.
If the Qing Army ran away on their own, and the Taiping army chased after them from behind, it was likely that not many people would be able to escape. If they burned the town and shouted for the Cantonese bandits to attack and burn the town, the platoon commanders would not have time to think. If the Cantonese bandits really did chase into the town, the platoon commanders would have to fight them to the death in order to protect their hometown. With the platoon commanders' helping the Qing Army cover their retreat ', the Qing Army would be able to flee south to the Jiangbei Barracks safely.
Knowing Xiong Qi You Ji's brilliant plan, the deputy general didn't say anything else. He led his men out to carry out Xiong Qi You Ji's orders. Seeing the deputy general leave, Xiong Qi You Ji immediately ordered his personal guards to quickly take the gold and silver he plundered from the tile kiln shop and leave first.
"You don't need to wait for me. Hurry up and leave first. Once I'm done here, I will immediately chase after you. So, you must take the main road. Do you understand? "Xiong Qi You Ji ordered with a solemn expression.
"Yes sir!" The personal guards immediately obeyed the order and left. They didn't want anything else, only dividing the gold and silver into several portions. Each man had two horses, and the gold and silver were placed on the backs of the horses behind. Over ten men rode thirty horses and began to head south.
When they were out of the town, one of the more loyal personal guards asked in confusion, "Why didn't Daren come with us? Since he wants to command the retreat, how can he not have us guards by his side? "
Some of the quick-witted Qing Army almost laughed out loud when they heard this. Xiong Qi You Ji staying at the tile kiln shop was indeed to command the Qing Army to retreat. However, if the Qing Army couldn't retreat in time, then Xiong Qi You Ji would immediately ride south at top speed to rendezvous with the Qing Army carrying the gold and silver, then they would quickly escape south together. As for the Qing Army, they were actually very good bait to attract the Taiping army.
If these personal guards carrying the gold and silver followed Xiong Qi You Ji south, they wouldn't be able to move fast while carrying the heavy gold and silver. If things reached a point where they had to quickly move south, then Xiong Qi You Ji could only abandon the gold and silver to save his life. If things really came to this point, then Xiong Qi You Ji's one year of extortion in the tile kiln shop would be in vain.
However, this kind of thing was enough for them to understand. Although some people covered their mouths and snickered, no one gave any explanation. The personal guards were all riding horses. Even if they didn't ride at top speed, it didn't take long for them to run several li. At this time, they turned their heads to look in the direction of the tile kiln shop, only to see several black cigarette butts rising from the inside of the town.
After running for another li, they saw from afar a large group of Qing Army charging out from the south road of the tile kiln shop, running along the main road in the direction of the Jiangbei Barracks in the south.
Lei Hu really didn't expect the Qing Army to retreat so decisively. He had indeed very cautiously arranged his formation and attacked along the main road towards the tile kiln shop. With the long rampart blocking his way, he couldn't see what was happening behind the rampart. The only thing he could be sure of was that something big had happened inside the rampart.
When thick smoke billowed from inside the tile kiln shop, Lei Hu became even more cautious and the speed at which his troops advanced slowed down. In any case, the town behind the Qing army was on fire, so it was more likely that something big had happened inside. Since victory was already in their grasp, why not take things more leisurely? This way, they could also reduce the number of casualties in the battle.
When Lei Hu's troops approached the rampart, the people behind the rampart started firing. The 14th Division had long been prepared. The troops didn't act rashly. Instead, they first used a volley of long-range gunfire to test the enemy's firepower. After confirming the enemy's firepower, the artillery soldiers began to test and calibrate the fire, using firepower to clear the enemy's firepower.
After this process, the troops should suppress the enemy's firepower on both sides of the destroyed firepower and send troops to fiercely attack the opened gap. Before the troops could do this, the scouts came to report that a large group of Qing Army troops had fled from the south of the town.
Lei Hu's brows furrowed tightly. A large group of Qing Army troops had fled to the south, so the ones left in the town should be the assault troops. What kind of Qing Army troops would be able to sacrifice themselves for others, leaving themselves on the battlefield to allow their comrades to safely retreat?
There shouldn't be such a Qing Army!
But at this moment, even though the Qing Army behind the rampart had suffered the fierce damage from the cannons, they didn't seem to have any intention of giving up. Faced with such a strange situation, Lei Hu couldn't understand what was going on at all. Lei Hu was certainly steady enough. Under such a situation where he didn't know the enemy's situation, he gave the order, "Continue to attack according to the original plan!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
