Chapter 3

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In 1852, Guangxi was a poor place. In this impoverished Guangxi, Dayao Mountain was a stretch of wilderness. Dense trees and shrubs surrounded them from all sides. Beneath their feet was grass that reached up to their calves. Vézé's troops were traversing through the wilderness where there was no path to follow.

Vézé, who was walking at the front, naturally had to take on the role of clearing a path. A tree branch that was neither too high nor too low blocked Vézé's path. Vézé did not go around it, nor did he push the branch aside. He waved the saber in his hand, and the sturdy branch that was as thick as a thumb was cut down. After cutting down the branch, Vézé temporarily stopped. As he tried to catch his breath, Vézé looked at the dense forest on the hillside for a moment. He muttered to himself, "Looking at the mountain is like running a horse to death!"

It had been five days since they set off from Yongan City. In yesterday's encounter, they had annihilated more than ten Qing Army soldiers. The joy of this victory did not last long. Before they set off this time, everyone carried a square military backpack on their backs. They carried dry rations and their own equipment. After winning the battle, they carried the seized Qing Army equipment with them, which increased the exhaustion of everyone's physical strength. Everyone's chest was soaked in sweat. The soldiers with long spears were using them as crutches. The soldiers carrying heavy guns were even walking stiffly, and their eyes were dull. Those who had used up too much of their physical strength were on the verge of collapsing when they walked. After several days of marching on this desolate mountain, the Taiping army brothers who had been following behind Vézé were already exhausted. Vézé paused for a moment, and the troops behind him stopped automatically.

"Ha … ha … Fourth Uncle, should we … should we take a break?" Wei Changrong, who was following behind Vézé, asked when he saw Vézé stop. Due to exhaustion, Wei Changrong's face was a little pale. After asking this question, Wei Changrong had no energy to continue. He could only lean on his spear and bend over to catch his breath.

Wei Ze could completely understand Wei Changrong's suggestion to rest. He led the team through the mountainous terrain where there were no paths at all. He had long lost count of the number of branches that blocked the path, the number of weeds and shrubs that were half a man's height that he had cut down along the way. Even the energetic Wei Ze was drenched in sweat at this moment, his feet swollen and aching. However, the problem of marching in the mountains and forests of Guangxi during winter was not just 'looking at a mountain and running a horse to death'. Different from the dry and cold winter in the north, Guangxi's winter was wet and cold. The humidity in the air seeped through the gaps in his clothes and reached his skin. Wei Ze felt a bone-piercing chill just by standing there for a moment.

Wei Ze raised his head and continued to look at the impenetrable forest in front of him for a moment. He then turned around and shouted, "Brothers, we also rested in the forest last time, but we couldn't walk anymore. Later on, we found out that we would be out of the forest in less than a hundred feet. The Yin energy in the forest is very strong, and resting for too long will harm our bodies. Previously, some of our brothers caught a cold and had a fever. Since we've suffered, why do we need to rest in the forest like before? Let's continue! "

Vézé's voice was clear, and his Hakka words were full of energy. After shouting, he continued to move forward. Seeing that Vézé was so insistent, Wei Changrong did not say anything else, and continued to follow Vézé. Some of the brothers behind him had indeed caught a cold because they rested in the forest for too long. Hearing Vézé's words, they continued to march with heavy steps. With someone taking the lead, the whole troop continued to move forward. After walking for a while, they found that they had finally passed through the forest and arrived at an open space on a gentle hillside. An open space meant that they could rest, and the brothers who had been holding on until now immediately slumped to the ground.

The first to reach this open space was naturally Vézé. When he arrived, he did not sit down, but stood on the hillside and looked around. Seeing that there was no one around, and that the troop had also passed through the forest, Vézé shouted, "Zhang Yingchen, Wei Changrong. Lead your subordinates to start a fire and cook. "After saying that, Vézé swung his machete and chopped the branches around him.

Zhang Yingchen and Wei Changrong were both sergeants, and each had four soldiers under them. They saw that their commander had disregarded his fatigue and was personally doing the work, and that life was obviously beneficial to everyone. The two of them endured the fatigue and worked together with their subordinates. With a five-man troop and Vézé, the eleven of them worked hard, and before long, two bonfires were lit. The cold and humid weather in Guangxi was indeed unbearable. When the fire started, even the brothers who were almost paralyzed on the ground moved. Everyone stood up shakily and gathered around the bonfires. When everyone gathered around the two bonfires, Vézé sat on a square military backpack like the other soldiers.

Half a month ago, the complete military and economic blockade of the Qing Army had forced the Taiping army into a desperate situation. Yang Xiuqing, the King Of The East of the Taiping Rebellion, had ordered many small troops to go out and try to find a way to communicate with the outside world. In the past half a month, Vézé had led troops out several times. This was the farthest they had gone, and the troops had been marching for five consecutive days.

The heat from the bonfires drove away the coldness of the soldiers. Some of the soldiers seemed to have recovered their vitality, while others could not help but doze off. A soldier was trying to change his sitting position, but his body twitched, and he suddenly let out a groan and fell to the ground, clutching his leg. The soldier hugged his leg and let out a painful groan. Because of the pain, he could not help but take deep breaths. No one was surprised. Everyone had experienced this several times in the past few days. The soldier had a cramp.

The soldier next to him followed Vézé's method and straightened the soldier's leg. Then, he turned the leg back and slowly rotated it clockwise.

"The cramp is because he has not eaten salt for a long time! This time, we must go behind Qing Yao and get salt! Otherwise, in a few more days, no one will be able to withstand it. "Vézé said loudly. In the past five months, the siege of Yongan City by the Manchu Qing had not been effective. However, the three months of total material blockade had dealt a great blow to Yongan City. Yongan City was extremely short of gunpowder and salt.

The shortage of gunpowder allowed the Qing Army, who relied on firearms, to gradually reverse their disadvantage in combat against the Taiping army. The shortage of salt directly began to weaken the Taiping army's combat strength. Loss of appetite, weakness in the limbs, cramps, and headaches were all the results of the lack of salt. If this continued, the Qing Army would sooner or later have an overall advantage over the Taiping army.

The soldier with the cramp was still a young man. Under the pain, he could not help but tear up. After a while, he recovered with the help of his comrades.

"Heat up the food!" Vézé shouted. They had seized a small amount of gunpowder and salt from the Qing Army that had been destroyed yesterday. Vézé had wanted to save salt, but it seemed that it would not be possible. He ordered Lin Asheng, who was in charge of logistics, to take out the salt and distribute it to everyone. The Qing Army did not carry much salt, so when it was distributed to each of the soldiers, it was only a little. Immediately, some of the soldiers put a few grains of salt into their mouths. Although they frowned and smacked their lips because of the saltiness, they could not hide the comfort in their hearts.

Zhang Yingchen, who was sitting next to Vézé, took out his food like the other soldiers. It was a small bamboo tube that had been broken in half. It was tied up with long grass to make it look like it was before it was broken. One bamboo tube was one meal. It was easy to calculate and carry. Everyone put their bamboo tubes next to the fire and used the fire to heat up the bamboo tubes. Sitting by the fire and rubbing his calf, Zhang Yingchen said, "Wei Sima, the Qing Army has set up camps everywhere. It is too difficult to go around them from the north. If we continue to head north, we will very likely enter the Yao people's territory. We might as well return to Yongan first. After returning to Yongan, we will not go north, but east. There are Qing Army on the small roads in the north. There are more small roads in the east, so we should encounter less Qing Army. "

Without replying to Zhang Yingchen, Vézé took out a cowhide bag from his backpack. This was a "bag" made by punching holes on both sides of the cowhide, folding the cowhide in the middle and threading the holes with rattan tendons. Vézé took out an account book. After opening it, the blank pages of the account book were filled with charcoal sketches of the terrain. Because it was drawn many times, the thickness of the handwriting was different. After looking at the map for a while, Vézé pointed in a direction and asked Zhang Yingchen, "Is that southeast?"

As a platoon leader, Zhang Yingchen was also responsible for identifying the direction. He looked at the sky, then at the top of the mountain, and answered, "That is east."

"Very well, let's go southeast." Vézé said to Zhang Yingchen. After that, Vézé turned to look at Wei Changrong, "Changrong, when we reach the pipeline, you will charge with me!"

"Don't worry! We will definitely kill Qing Yao! "Wei Changrong answered confidently.

Zhang Yingchen was a native of Yongan. He joined the Taiping army after the Taiping army conquered Yongan. After the Qing Army besieged Yongan City, the Taiping army fought with the Qing Army many times. Even though the Taiping army did not lose, they were unable to break through the Qing Army's siege.

After being assigned to work under Vézé, he had been sent out several times to scout ahead. The Qing Army had blocked all the roads north of Yongan City. Each Qing Army unit consisted of at most a hundred people, and at least fifty to sixty people. They were armed with a large number of firearms. When Vézé's 26-man unit came across the Qing Army's stronghold, they always took a detour. Yesterday, when they encountered the Qing Army, they only attacked and killed the enemy.

Yesterday's battle was easy because the Taiping army had carried out an ambush, and their numbers were twice that of the enemy. Even if this kind of victory wasn't an unfair one, Zhang Yingchen didn't find it strange at all. The arduous march over the past few days had almost numbed Zhang Yingchen's nerves. Compared to the physical exhaustion and mental exhaustion, a small victory could not be considered particularly encouraging.

Zhang Yingchen did not feel that his suspicions were excessive. After scouting ahead several times, this time, Vézé decided to take a path that did not even have a road. Along the way, he cut through thistles and thorns, traversed mountains and valleys. After expending a great deal of energy, it seemed that he was still wandering in the mountains. Zhang Yingchen himself was a native of Yongan, and the path that Vézé was taking was a path that even a native like him would not take. After going around and around, Zhang Yingchen himself did not know where he was. If Vézé truly believed that he could defeat the Qing Army, then why would he take this path? It was obvious that Vézé still could not defeat the Qing Army.

Speaking of the official road, not only did Vézé look as if victory was within his grasp, but the Taiping army's "old soldiers" who were similarly depressed during the march were also full of confidence. Zhang Yingchen was particularly puzzled. Why did Vézé and the "old Taiping army" have such confidence?

Just as Zhang Yingchen was feeling puzzled, he heard Vézé shout: "Eat! Eat! "

After receiving the order, the soldiers all took out their bamboo tubes. They untied the grass on the outside of the bamboo tube, and inside the bamboo tube was already cooked rice. The rice was mixed with a lot of other beans. The brothers all sprinkled the salt in their hands on the rice. Other than that, there were no vegetables or sauces. This kind of meal had been the norm for the Taiping army for the past month.