?
On the way back, everyone hurried on with their journey. Their families were still in Yongan. They had been away for seven days. When they thought about the rewards they would receive when they returned to Yongan City, especially when they would be able to reunite with their families, everyone was eager to return home.
Vézé sent Zhang Yingchen and two of his brothers back to Yongan City to report, while he led the rest of the army back. Even though they had brought a lot of resources, they had traveled for six days to get here and less than three days to get back. After all, when they set off, they had to explore the way forward. Along the way, they had to work hard to open up a path, so they only needed to hurry back. Everyone traveled in the morning and stayed at night. Finally, on the morning of the 12th of February, they arrived at the rendezvous point agreed upon by Vézé and Zhang Yingchen.
At the rendezvous point, Zhang Yingchen was not the only one waiting for Vézé. There was also a team of two from the city, led by the imperial bodyguard of the Taiping army, Lin Fengxiang. Lin Fengxiang was also one of the 40 brothers from the Jintian Uprising. At this time, he had also become a commander-in-chief and Hong Xiuquan's imperial bodyguard. Although his official position was the same as Vézé's, his status was much higher than Vézé's.
Vézé and Lin Fengxiang had met before, and the two of them had fought together before Vézé's transmigration, so they could be considered acquaintances. Seeing that Lin Fengxiang had come personally, Vézé understood the importance the Taiping army placed on this batch of loot.
After personally going through the bags of loot brought back by Vézé, Lin Fengxiang grabbed Vézé's hand and said excitedly, "Wei Sima, you've worked hard! With these things, we have hope of defending the city. "
Hearing these excited words, Vézé's heart skipped a beat. The situation of the Taiping army had reached a point where even Lin Fengxiang felt that they could no longer hold on? However, Vézé didn't point this out. He smiled, "With Major Lin personally receiving us, we'll be able to return with ease. Had Sima Lin already arranged the way back? Why don't we leave now? "
"We have to wait for nightfall." Lin Fengxiang answered regretfully, "After Major Wei sent out his troops, Xiang Rong moved his camp forward again. He's almost at the Red Temple now."
"What?" Not only Vézé's eyes widened, but Vézé's subordinates were also shocked. It had been ten days since they left Yongan City. No one knew that the situation in Yongan City had changed so much.
The Taiping army's defense system of Yongan City did not simply rely on the city walls of Yongan City for defense. The Taiping army had also occupied many strongholds outside of Yongan City. One of the strongholds in the north was the Red Temple.
The commander of the Manchu Qing Northern Barracks, Xiang Rong, and the commander of the Southern Barracks, Wu Lan Tai, were defeated by the Taiping army at Guancun Ridge. Xiang Rong was immediately dismissed. After the Taiping army conquered Yongan City, Xiang Rong was reinstated. Ever since he was reinstated, Xiang Rong changed his previous mistakes. He gave up on fighting the Taiping army in the field, and switched to positional warfare. He personally led the Qing Army's Northern Barracks from Gu Pai, which was 30 li away from the Taiping army, to Longyan Tang, which was 15 li away from the Taiping army.
Lin Fengxiang briefly explained the situation to Vézé. Not long after Vézé and the rest left Yongan City, Xiang Rong moved his camp again. This time, he brought the Qing Army's Northern Barracks to the Red Temple, which was 7 li away from the city walls.
This time, Xiang Rong's move not only brought the Taiping army closer, but also cut off Vézé and the rest's path back to Yongan City. Even though there was still a path for them to take, they couldn't be sure when they would encounter the Qing Army's patrol. Vézé and the rest were carrying 40 catties of loot each. In addition, they had been marching and fighting non-stop for the past few days. They didn't have time to rest, so their stamina was at rock bottom. If they were discovered and attacked by the Qing Army's patrol, they wouldn't even be able to transport the loot back. Vézé and the rest might not even be able to keep their lives.
Seeing how shocked Vézé and the rest were, Lin Fengxiang smiled and said, "Brothers, you don't have to worry for now. Before I came out, Prince Nan had already sent Prince Yi to the Red Temple. As long as I send someone to report back to Prince Yi, Prince Yi will send his troops to lure Xiang Rong away from the Red Temple. There will also be a team of brothers who will come to receive us and transport the loot back to the city. "
"That's great! We will listen to Major Lin's orders. "Knowing that there would be a large team to receive them, Vézé heaved a sigh of relief.
Lin Fengxiang immediately sent someone to report back. In the afternoon, another 20 brothers who were in charge of transporting the loot came over. Not long after, they heard battle cries and gunshots coming from afar. After all, Wei Ze had been fighting for three months. As soon as he heard the sounds, he knew that most of the gunshots and cannons were coming from the Qing army. The Taiping army only fired occasionally. The cannons were silent.
However, this wasn't something that Vézé and the rest were concerned about. Lin Fengxiang led the transport team and carried the loot away. The team avoided the battlefield where the two sides were fighting and rushed towards Yongan City.
The brothers who came to receive them knew that Vézé and the rest were out of strength. Therefore, they didn't let Vézé and the rest carry the loot. Instead, the reinforcement team carried over 20 catties of loot each. It took them two hours to travel more than 10 kilometers. Along the way, another 50 brothers came to receive them. The speed of their advance was much faster, and the hundred people finally arrived at the foot of Yongan City when the sky was about to darken.
When they arrived at the north gate of the city, they saw that there were many Taiping soldiers guarding the city. It seemed that the news had spread quickly. To Vézé's surprise, there was a yellow-robed Prince in the crowd. Looking closely, he saw that it was the Southern Prince, Feng Yunshan, who was in charge of the city's defense.
After the Taiping Rebellion took over Yongan City, the city was divided into four Kings: East, West, North, and South, as well as the Wing King, Shi Dakai. The Southern Prince, Feng Yunshan, was second only to the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing. The fact that Feng Yunshan had come to receive them personally meant that their hard work in obtaining the loot had gained the attention of the higher-ups. Vézé felt a little proud. Taking a few steps forward, Vézé was the first to greet him. "Subordinate Vézé greets the Southern Prince," Feng Yunshan replied casually, then went straight to the loot. After confirming that the bags were full of salt and gunpowder, Feng Yunshan turned to Vézé and said, "The Wayne Brothers have made a great contribution!"
Although he was happy, Feng Yunshan's mind was still on the military affairs. After praising Vézé, Feng Yunshan turned to the person beside him and said, "Send the salt and gunpowder to the Sacred Storehouse immediately."
When Zhang Yingchen arrived at the city, he was almost out of breath. However, Zhang Yingchen found that even after such a long journey, his speed was not slower than the brothers who came to his aid. Among the brothers who came to his aid, a few of them also had cramps while running.
Along the way, Vézé had told them many times about the consequences of not eating salt. When traveling with Vézé and the others, everyone was the same. It was not obvious. These days, everyone had enough salt every day, and they even had cured meat to eat. Compared to the brothers in the city, their physical strength was not inferior. As for Vézé's contribution this time, Zhang Yingchen was completely sure.
Seeing that a big shot like Feng Yunshan had come to greet him personally, Zhang Yingchen was full of excitement. However, the Southern Prince, Feng Yunshan, was busy dealing with official affairs and did not reward the meritorious officials. Zhang Yingchen felt a little disappointed. Just as he was feeling unhappy, Zhang Yingchen saw Vézé step forward and say to Feng Yunshan, "Southern Prince, I am attacking under the orders of the King Of The East. It is natural for the Southern Prince to send these things to the Sacred Storehouse. However, I would like to ask the Southern Prince to send a brother with me to see the King Of The East, so that I can report to the King Of The East. "
Seeing Vézé do this, Zhang Yingchen immediately became nervous. In the Taiping army, apart from the Heavenly King, the Four Kings were the most powerful. The King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, was conferred the title of Military Advisor and commanded the kings. The Southern Prince, Feng Yunshan, was second only to the King Of The East in terms of power. Vézé's tone was quite respectful, but his words showed that he did not believe the Southern Prince. Zhang Yingchen could not help but sweat in his heart.
However, the Southern Prince, Feng Yunshan, was not angry. He laughed and said, "I was just too happy and did not have time to think about this matter. How about this, I will go with the Wayne Brothers to see the King Of The East and clarify this matter in person. "
Since Feng Yunshan said so, Vézé had nothing else to say. He ordered his subordinates to return to the camp to rest, and Vézé followed the Southern Prince into the city.
On the way to the King Of The East's residence, Feng Yunshan told Vézé that yesterday afternoon, the "Heavenly Father" descended and spoke to the Taiping army, saying that the current predicament would soon be over, and that the Taiping army should learn from the other kings and strive to kill the enemy in order to achieve victory. Today, Vézé returned with the seized things, presumably boosting the morale of the Taiping army.
Although there was no expression on his face, Vézé could not help but want to laugh out loud. In the past, he could not get over the Taiping Rebellion, and that was the problem of worshiping God. As a very ordinary young man in the new China, Vézé himself was a staunch anti-religious person. However, it was precisely because of this anti-religious concept that Vézé soon discovered that the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, who rarely showed his face and liked to write limericks to expound doctrines, might really believe in the God worshiping religion that he himself founded. Other than that, none of the kings of the Taiping Rebellion believed in the God worshiping religion. For example, the famous Wing King Shi Dakai's attitude towards the God worshiping religion was probably just short of beating drums and gongs and openly opposing it.
As for Feng Yunshan himself, he was actually the real promoter of the God worshiping religion in Guangxi. Heavenly King Hong was the leader in charge of scripture writing, and Feng Yunshan's role was undoubtedly the practical Pope. The King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing's current position was the "military counselor" who led the kings. This King Of The East should have been more secular, but when faced with the God worshiping religion that he had no chance to intervene in, he actually used "China -style religious methods". Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan claimed that he was the second son of the Heavenly Father and the reincarnation of Jesus' younger brother. Yang Xiuqing claimed that he was possessed by the Heavenly Father. Every time the Heavenly Father possessed a body, Yang Xiuqing was Hong Xiuquan's "father", the highest god whose decree was more authoritative than that of Hong Xiuquan.
For an anti-religious person like Vézé, disregarding the comical nature of religious methods, Vézé very much agreed with such political methods. Knowing that he could coincidentally help Yang Xiuqing, Vézé was quite happy.
No matter how many people truly believed in the little trick of the Heavenly Father's possession, Yang Xiuqing always finished what he started. Every time after the possession was completed, Yang Xiuqing would take a short break to show that the possession of the Heavenly Father would put a heavy burden on the body of an ordinary person. At this time, Yang Xiuqing was "resting and recovering".
Both sides chatted for a while and involuntarily moved on to the recent military affairs. Vézé didn't care about the tightened encirclement of the Qing Army. Looking at Feng Yunshan's heavy expression, Wei Ze said with a smile, "Southern King, Xiang Rong and Ulan Tai are just defeated opponents of ours. If you want to defeat them, you only need to do what you did in the past and lure them outside to fight. Drag the Qing Army through the mountains a few times. They are anxious to defeat us and will advance even more rashly. If we set up an ambush now, we will definitely be able to wipe them out in one fell swoop. "
After listening, Feng Yunshan asked: "What if Qing Yao doesn't pursue our troops out of the city but takes advantage of the fact that the city's defenses are weak to tighten their siege on Yongan?"
Wei Ze replied, "Then we might as well not defend Yongan City. As long as we kill all the demons that are pursuing us, it will be as easy as flipping our hand if we want to take Yongan City again. Why must we care about the gains and losses of this city? "
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