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Zuo Zongtang did not know that Vézé had arrived in Nanjing, and did not know that great news was about to fall onto his head. At this time, Zuo Zongtang was marching under the hot July sun of Henan.
The long winding line advanced along the dirt road, and on the two sides of the road were endless fields. The road was full of potholes, and the dust was stirred up by the feet and wheels. The closer to the back of the troops, the higher the fine dust flew, and entered the eyes, ears, and nostrils of the soldiers and animals. The rear of the Chu army either walked in the middle of the road or on the sides to avoid the dust. Or they used their clothes to cover their noses and mouths, and narrowed their eyes as they advanced.
As the self-proclaimed "Jin Liang," Zuo Zongtang did not ride a small cart like Zhuge Liang in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but rode a horse at the front of the army. Naturally, it was impossible to carry a large umbrella when marching, so Zuo Zongtang was drenched in sweat under the hot sun. The scout was kneeling on one knee and reporting what had happened. "Marshal, the platoon commander Liu Heiqi's unit was killed."
Liu Heiqi was a platoon commander near Heze. In Zuo Zongtang's plan to surround and annihilate the Nian Army, Liu Heiqi's platoon had been an important part of the encirclement. At this time, the sun was hot, and his body was covered in sweat. When Zuo Zongtang heard the news, he was certain that the encirclement plan had failed again. Restraint was not one of Zuo Zongtang's strong points. He was furious and shouted at the scout, "Take me to see!"
In a small depression not far in front of them, there were corpses strewn about. This depression had some shade around it. When Zuo Zongtang dismounted to examine, he immediately felt a wave of coldness. Different from the humid heat of the Yangtze River, the summer sun in Henan and Shandong was fierce, but as long as there was shade, one would feel cool. Under the shade of the tree, it was very easy for the wind to blow. Even if the wind was wrapped in the scent of blood, it could still make people feel cool.
Looking at the distribution of the corpses and the environment, Zuo Zongtang could roughly guess what had happened. Liu Heiqi's troops couldn't stand the heat, so they stayed here to enjoy the cool air. Just as they were relaxing comfortably in the shade, the Nian Army, who were familiar with the terrain, suddenly charged into the hollow and killed all of Liu Heiqi's troops.
After confirming what had happened, Zuo Zongtang said, "The bandits can't have gone far. We can catch up with them if we go after them now."
Hearing Zuo Zongtang's order, his subordinate hesitated for a moment. "Sir, the sun is so hot, it's difficult for our army to march."
Zuo Zongtang said: "Our army has a hard time marching, do you think the bandits have an easy time marching? They move back and forth and cover more ground than us. As long as we go after them, we can definitely catch up with them. "
As if to confirm Zuo Zongtang's words, a mounted scout galloped over from afar. When he got close, he saluted and said, "Commander-in-chief, we've discovered a large group of Nianwei soldiers five miles ahead. They are resting. "
"Go after them!" Zuo Zongtang immediately ordered.
The subordinates ran off to lead their own troops in pursuit. Zuo Zongtang stood under the shade of the tree, watching his subordinates run back and forth under the hot sun. His bodyguards had already set up a stool. Zuo Zongtang wanted to sit down. But when he thought of his subordinates, sitting down to rest might shake their morale. So, Zuo Zongtang walked out of the shade, shouting: "Prepare the horses!"
Five to six miles ahead of them, there were more than three thousand Nianjun soldiers. Knowing that there are enemies chasing after them, the leader, Lai Wenguang, smiled at Marquis Lu Tianhou, Ren Zhu and said: "The Left Demon Leader must be mad with anger now, let's see if we can run fast enough."
Ren Zhu also smiled. "It's not the first time the Left Demon has been tricked by us. He won't be able to catch up this time. Brother Lai, this time you must let me lead the last. I don't feel comfortable letting you lead all the time. "
Lai Wenguang heard this and shook his head. "I'm just leading the Left Demon in circles. If we really gather the troops to fight Qing Yao, we still need Brother Ren's help. There's nothing to argue about."
"Then Brother Lai, you must let me lead the next time. We have to agree!" Ren Zhu said.
"Then Brother Ren will lead the next time." Lai Wenguang agreed.
After they finished talking, they ignored the approaching Chu army and retreated with their troops. At the same time, the Chu army, led by Zuo Zongtang, was closing in quickly.
The three thousand soldiers moved forward for four or five miles. A group of about five hundred soldiers left first and went down a side road. Zuo Zongtang didn't hesitate when he heard the report. "Go after the biggest group!" he ordered.
After walking for another four or five miles, another troop of five hundred people broke away from the group and disappeared into the forest without a trace. Zuo Zongtang still didn't split up. He followed closely behind the group of two thousand soldiers.
After another four or five miles, another group of five hundred soldiers left the main Nian Army rearguard. Zuo Zongtang's face darkened. This wasn't the first time he had encountered such a situation. The Nian Army was as slippery as a mudfish in Henan and other places. Every time, they would split up and break out of the encirclement after defeating the official army or a group of soldiers. The small groups left the main group. After chasing for dozens of miles, the Nian Army's main group was even smaller than the small groups that left.
The last few times this happened, Zuo Zongtang had to give up the chase. This time, he made up his mind to wipe out a group of the Nian Army. From how well the rearguard could run, it could be seen that they were elite soldiers. This kind of elite was hard to accumulate. It was a situation where every group was eaten up, there would be one less group.
Refusing the pleas of his breathless subordinates to rest, Zuo Zongtang ordered the chase to continue. After another seven or eight miles, a crossroad appeared in front of them. The remaining one thousand and five hundred Nian Army split into three groups and went in three different directions.
Zuo Zongtang ordered loudly, "Cavalry, go straight ahead and chase after them!"
He didn't choose the left or right because the left and right sides were closer to the Nian Army's fleeing groups. There was a chance they would be ambushed. The four hundred cavalry didn't give chase. When they rested, they gave their horses some fodder and water. When they received the order, they immediately chased along the road.
But after running for a few li, they saw the fleeing Nien army had turned into a depression. The cavalry was afraid of an ambush, so they ordered a small team to go in first to investigate. But when the small team entered the depression carefully, they found that the Nien army's footprints led from the depression to a small mound, and then disappeared into a rugged path full of weeds. The path was passable for infantry, but it was difficult for cavalry to pass. Chu Jun didn't know that there was a small path here. Just like that, an hour had passed. When the Chu main group arrived, the Nian Army had disappeared without a trace.
When Zuo Zongtang heard the report, his lion nosed and wide mouth face was full of viciousness. This kind of thing happened once or twice. The Nian Army wouldn't fight the Chu main group head-on, and would choose to escape. The result was that they lost the enemy every time.
Just as Zuo Zongtang was angry, a mounted scout came running from behind. "Marshal, our brothers at the back were ambushed by the Nian bandits! We lost more than three hundred men. "
Under the sun, after running for so long, not only did they not catch up to the enemy, they were bitten back by the enemy. All kinds of frustration and anger built up. Zuo Zongtang was furious. He jumped off his horse and whipped the horse on the shoulder of the mounted scout. The mounted scout was a clever boy. He hurriedly knelt down, his head buried deep in the ground, and shouted, "Marshal, please calm down! Marshal, please calm down! "
If the mounted scout had a puzzled expression or dared to dodge, then Zuo Zongtang would have whipped the mounted scout's head. Seeing the mounted scout admit defeat, Zuo Zongtang's rationality quickly returned. He snorted and ordered, "Give him five taels of silver."
Finishing, Zuo Zongtang turned his head and ordered, "Retreat! Put the elites at the back. If the Nian Army pursues, beat them hard! "
By now, the Nian Army's troops were already far from the Chu army. Qiguang and Zhuang Zhu met again. Lai Wenguang smiled and said, "Our brothers in the Nian Army are more familiar with the area."
Zhuang Zhu also smiled and said, "Brother Lai, you made the General Staff Department draw a good map."
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