Chapter 5

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Before Wei Ze ambushed the Qing army's grain transport team, the core of his strategy was to focus on close combat and hand-to-hand combat. These days, the quality of China's matchlock guns was very poor, and Wei Ze only had five of these low quality and low firing rate matchlocks. The Qing Army had at least a hundred muskets. Using one's weakness to attack the enemy's strength was the stupidest choice.

Hand-To-Hand combat was a compulsory course for modern armies. Even during World War II, when airplanes and cannons were widely used, bayonet fights broke out between the armies of various countries. Even on the battlefield in Korea, the US military relied on cannons to cut through mountains, bombs to bombard the ground, and firepower saturation to fight the volunteers many times. In 1852, which was almost 90 years before 1940, hand-to-hand combat was the specialty of modern armies. Vézé firmly believed in this.

Vézé's subordinates displayed outstanding combat effectiveness in battle. Wei Changrong and the other veteran Taiping army soldiers charged into the Qing Army formation and immediately began a fierce massacre. Even Zhang Yingchen, who was not very reliable, was fighting in a rather clumsy but far braver and more decisive way than the Qing army.

Just as Vézé expected, the Qing Army was directly attacked from the rear and the center, and was scared silly by the fierce attack. The Qing soldiers in the rear threw down their guns and ran away as fast as they could. On the other hand, the Middle Military Division fled to the front.

"Chase! Don't let Qing Yao escape! "Vézé shouted, and chased after the center of the Qing Army. The best way to break up the enemy's formation was undoubtedly the enemy's defeated soldiers. If the fleeing Qing Army soldiers charged into the center of the Qing Army, it could easily cause an avalanche effect. Unconscious group movements had always had an unimaginable ability to coerce others. The routed soldiers, who were at a loss of what to do, fled in all directions. Once the Qing army's formation was completely disrupted, within a short period of time, such a large group of people would flee for their lives. Once the Qing Army fled, Vézé could lead his brothers to plunder the spoils of war. That was the best result.

Wei Changrong had a wealth of battle experience and knew this. Hearing Vézé's order, the soldiers did not pursue the fleeing Qing Army soldiers. They followed Vézé and charged into the center of the Qing Army.

In the middle of the Qing army, the commander of the grain transport team stood in front of the three riders, his face covered with sweat and trembling with fear. The three men were all different in height and weight, but they all had one thing in common. They all wore yellow magua.

These three men were the Imperial Bodyguards assigned by the Emperor to Sai Shang'a, the Imperial Envoy responsible for annihilating the Taiping army. They were here because the Imperial Envoy Cei Shan-a had ordered them to deliver a letter. The Qing Army, which had been following the Taiping Army closely, had begun to besiege Yongan City four months ago. After dozens of battles, large and small, the Qing Army had finally built a camp in the north and south of Yongan City. Adding on the troops from other routes, they had completely surrounded Yongan City.

Under the constant urging of the Xianfeng Emperor, Cei Shan-a, the Imperial Envoy in charge of suppressing the bandits, finally decided a few days ago to go to the front lines and personally supervise the battle. Before leaving, he sent the Imperial Bodyguards Klondo and two others to deliver a letter to the Northern Camp of Yongan City. The Imperial Bodyguards did not have much contact with the local officials. By sending them to deliver the letter, they could see the situation at the front lines. This was Cei Shan-a's plan.

The Imperial Bodyguards were naturally willing to go out for a walk. In front of Cei Shan-a, the Imperial Bodyguards were just bodyguards. If they could go out, they would immediately be important people from the capital. The local officials everywhere would have to eat, drink, and serve them well. According to the rules of the Manchu Qing officialdom, the local officials along the way would naturally not be lacking in filial piety. Moreover, although the matter of delivering the letter wasn't a big deal, it was still a matter. When the Taiping Army was annihilated, this small matter could be attributed to the work of the Imperial Bodyguards. Since there were benefits to both inside and outside, the Imperial Bodyguards naturally 'gladly obeyed'.

It was just that these three Imperial Bodyguards couldn't put on too much airs along the way. They were arranged to be part of the grain transport team heading to Yongan City's Northern Camp. They were also given a small team of bodyguards.

The officer in charge of the grain transport team was a general surnamed Liu. He did not dare to slight these three guards who were wearing yellow magua and served them very attentively. Klondo and the others were very satisfied with this and expressed many times that they would 'put in a good word' for this Chief Liu in front of the Imperial Envoy. Chief Liu was naturally tactful and respectfully handed over a letter of silver. Klondo and the others naturally accepted it.

As the leader of the three Imperial Bodyguards, the third rank Imperial Bodyguard Klondo wasn't worried about the safety of this journey. As a bodyguard by the Imperial Envoy's side, he was naturally very clear about the official documents. The Qing Army had mobilized fifty thousand troops to encircle and suppress the Taiping Army. Even though many of the troops weren't at the frontlines, there were thirty thousand Qing Army troops in the Northern and Southern Camps outside Yongan City that were pressuring the Taiping Army inside Yongan City. The official road that led to the Northern Camp had already been tightly sealed by the Qing Army. It should be very safe right now. There were over a hundred Hunan Green Camp escorting the grain transport team. Their fighting strength wasn't weak. Klondo was even more at ease.

Just as Klondo and the other two Imperial Bodyguards were chatting and laughing on their horses, they suddenly heard battle cries coming from behind them. Klondo, who was sitting on his horse, turned his head and looked over the heads of the ten or so Qing Army soldiers walking behind him. He saw a dozen or so people holding spears yelling and shouting as they charged up the official road. Seeing that there were only so few people, Krondo did not feel particularly nervous. The first thing that attracted Klondo's attention was the white cloth tied around their foreheads, as well as their hair that was tied up in a bun. There were Daoist temples in Beijing, and Klondo had seen Daoist priests before. His first thought was that even Daoist priests running for funerals were starting to block the road and rob people?!

Reality quickly proved that this group of people weren't Daoist priests running for funerals, but they were genuine bandits. There was no doubt that there were nobles among the Imperial Guards who were here to gain experience, but this did not mean that the Imperial Guards were incompetent. Usually, they had to undergo various kinds of rather strict training. The Imperial Bodyguards were divided into different ranks. They could only rely on their own martial arts to gain the Emperor's approval. The lower ranked Imperial Bodyguards also hoped that they could obtain the Emperor's promotion through their bravery and military achievements.

Seeing that the Qing Army's formation was in chaos, Klondo didn't show any fear. He rode his horse from a higher position. When Vézé and the rest charged out, Klondo roughly counted the number of people that had charged out, and there were about 20 of them. Meanwhile, there were still at least a hundred people in the front and middle of the Qing Army who were still in a disciplined state.

With a calm expression, Klondo said to the commander in front of him, "Commander Liu! There are at most 20 bandits. You said that you fought with General Xiang Rong, and you also said that you learned how to fire a barrage from Xiang Rong. Now, bring 40 brothers to meet them, and fire a barrage at those bandits! If those who escaped back dare to attack our formation, I'll kill them immediately. Go! "

When Commander Liu heard that the commander was preparing to lead his troops to meet the enemy, he was stunned when he heard that they were going to kill the Qing Army that escaped. If it was any other time, Klondo would naturally fly into a rage. However, the bandits were charging over, and he didn't have the time to lose his temper. He shouted, "With us brothers here, what are you afraid of? As long as you can kill those bandits, we will naturally speak up for you! If you lose here, and we die, what will happen to you? If we brothers didn't die, do you think we would let you go? "

These words were like a whip that made Liu Baozong shiver. He could not care too much anymore. Using his native Hunan dialect, he shouted to his already panicked subordinates, "Line up, meet the enemy!" After more than forty subordinates were ready, Liu Baozong shouted, "Move forward fifty steps! Tell the brothers that are running back to hide by the side of the road! "

Commander Liu wasn't a useless person, after giving out a few orders, his subordinates immediately obeyed. As they advanced, they shouted, "Brothers, hide by the side of the road!" "Brothers, hide by the side of the road!"

Vézé and the rest were currently chasing the Qing Army deserters. When the Qing Army deserters heard the shouts, and saw the orderly formation of the Qing Army in front of them, they all fled to the side of the road. In an instant, a large empty space appeared on the road that was originally filled with people. When the Qing Army saw that there were no more than 20 people charging over, they immediately regained their confidence. As soon as Liu Baozong gave the order, the Qing army stopped advancing and started to prepare to fire.

At this time, Vézé and the rest were only 30 meters away from the Qing Army.

No matter how crappy a matchlock was, it was still a firearm. Vézé's troops all used long spears. No matter how brave they were, they could only display their might in front of the Qing Army. When Vézé saw the changes in the Qing Army, he knew that the battle had deviated from the original plan.

In the 21st century, Vézé could run 100 meters in 12 seconds, and 30 meters in 6 seconds. In the 21st century, he could run 100 meters in 6 seconds. However, this was only a theoretical calculation. If Wei Ze wanted to do this, he would need to wear running shorts, the ground under his feet was a plastic track, and he would need running shoes on his feet. In reality, Vézé was on the "official road". The so-called official road had nothing to do with the word "flat". The ground was still full of potholes. It was already good enough that he didn't fall or sprain his ankle while running.

Now, Vézé only had two choices. Either he charged forward with all his might, or he immediately retreated. If they stopped now and allowed the Qing army to line up leisurely and fire their spears from a distance of more than thirty meters, the dozen or so Taiping soldiers with spears in their hands would be slaughtered.

Of course, he could escape now, but this situation that he had worked so hard to achieve would be in vain. Who knew when the Qing Army's next supply team would arrive. Vézé and the rest didn't have much food with them. They couldn't lie in ambush for more than 10 days. Vézé was absolutely unwilling to spit out the meat that he had swallowed.

If he didn't want to retreat, then he could only charge forward. In the time it took for a spark to fly off a flint, Vézé didn't stop at all. As he ran with all his might, Vézé didn't even have the breath to shout.

Seeing that not only did Vézé not stop, he quickened his pace. It was obvious that he wanted to kill his way into the Qing Army's formation. His Hunan accent immediately increased by an octave. "There are only a dozen bandits. Everyone, fire! Fire! "The Qing Army soldiers also began to fire under the urging of their officers. One of the quick-witted Qing soldiers even managed to light a fire.

At this moment, both sides were competing in proficiency and courage. Vézé could see clearly that the 30 or so Qing Army soldiers were lined up in three lines. They were in a three-pronged attack position. Behind them, there were 20 or so Qing Army gunmen. The retreating Qing Army circled around the Qing Army and ran to the back of the Qing Army's formation from both sides of the official road. According to the Qing Army's wishful thinking, they probably hoped to heavily injure Vézé and the others with the three-pronged attack. Then, the gunmen would charge forward and finish the rest of the battle.

The shoes Vézé was wearing now weren't Nike, Adidas, or 361 degrees. But the straw sandals were a product that Vézé had created after a month of careful research and continuous improvement. The load-bearing parts were reinforced by rattan tendons and hemp ropes. Vézé knew that the reason he could run so fast and charge so fiercely at the beginning was because of the sandals. Just now, he had killed a dozen or so Qing Army soldiers like a dragon or a tiger. The straw sandals on his feet had exerted a lot of force and were also damaged. If he continued to run like this, the straps of the straw sandals would definitely break.

With some misgivings in his heart, Vézé's charging speed clearly slowed down. Perhaps it was because the Qing Army saw that Vézé's charging speed had slowed down that the pressure in their hearts lessened, but their hands moved even faster. Loading gunpowder, reloading. Although everyone's speed was different, the movements of each Qing Army soldier gave Vézé an enormous psychological pressure.

"F * ck! Isn't it just a shoe that fell off and cut my foot? If I'm too slow, I'll lose my life. Why am I so stupid? " Vézé instantly understood this point. He no longer cared about the condition of the shoe on his foot. He put all his strength into his legs and charged towards the black muzzles of the Qing Army.

Although the gunmen in front of him were working hard to reload, the uncontrollable fear on their faces became more and more obvious as Vézé approached. Finally, out of fear, one of the Qing Army soldiers dropped his gunpowder pouch on the ground. Some of the Qing Army soldiers raised their eyes to look at Vézé, then lowered their heads to look at their muskets. They repeated these two actions repeatedly like chickens eating rice. Under such a distracted situation, the preparation of the muskets completely stopped.

However, there was always an exception among the entire platoon of Qing Army soldiers. Just as Vézé reached the front of the Qing Army, he saw the quickest Qing Army soldier finish reloading his musket despite his face full of fear. That fellow was on Vézé's left, the black muzzle pointed straight at Vézé. Sparks flew from the musket. All that was left was to pull the trigger.

At this juncture, Vézé's thoughts were unprecedentedly clear. If he stabbed that fellow with his musket, it was highly likely that the Qing Army soldier's musket would hit Vézé, and Vézé's lance would stab that fellow to death. Vézé released his left hand from the grip of his musket and took a large step to the left. He grabbed the barrel of the quickest Qing Army soldier and raised it high into the air.

Bang! The muffled sound of the musket rang out above Vézé's head. In the end, the quickest Qing Army soldier still pulled the trigger. Vézé's left hand that was grabbing onto the gun barrel and his left forearm were shaken to the point of numbness. The excitement of escaping death only brought him a momentary sense of joy. Following that, an uncontrollable rage surged from Vézé's heart.

"I'll f * ck your mother!" Wei Ze's ferocious nature erupted along with this completely brainless roar. Since his left hand could no longer exert force, Vézé simply let go of the musket in his right hand and pulled out the machete that was disguised as a machete. Ignoring the Qing Army soldier who had already let go of his musket, Vézé swung his right arm down with all his might. The machete ruthlessly chopped into the head of the Qing Army soldier in front of him.

The strength behind this chop was so great that an ordinary metal machete forcibly sliced off half of the Qing Army soldier's head. Red and white objects could be clearly seen at the gap created by the machete. Vézé kicked the Qing Army soldier in the chest and abdomen. The corpse flew backwards.

At this moment, Vézé was less than half a meter away from the nearest Qing Army soldier. However, the Qing Army soldiers all stared dumbfoundedly at Vézé, who was so close to them. They did not react in the slightest. Vézé swung his right arm and sliced open the throat of another Qing Army soldier. The shriek of a chicken being slaughtered only lasted for a moment before it abruptly stopped.

Then, an inhuman scream rang out. "Oh my God!"

This scream seemed to express the thoughts of the Qing Army soldiers. The other Qing Army soldiers all screamed, turned around, and ran. The soldiers at the back were slightly slower to react. They were hit head-on by the fellows in the front row and staggered. Some of them used too much force and even knocked the Qing Army soldiers behind them to the ground. Like a tilted gourd, the Qing Army soldiers bumped into each other. The whole place was a mess.

Vézé caught up with them two steps from behind. He slashed left and right. Two Qing Army soldiers fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Vézé spat in his heart. The two slashes looked like large wounds, and the injured Qing Army soldiers were bleeding profusely. However, Vézé had not given the two Qing Army soldiers a fatal blow. It seemed that he had been too excited. He had completely lost his composure.

After calming himself down a little, Wei Ze took two steps forward and swung his saber at the back of a Qing soldier's bald head. When the Qing soldiers fought, they would wear their braids on their heads. The braids on the top of the Qing soldier's head were not cut off by the iron saber that was not sharp enough. Instead, they were cut into the soldier's head with a single saber. Like a toad struck by lightning, the Qing Army soldier trembled, then froze on the spot.

Seeing the blade cut into the Qing Army soldier's head, Vézé knew that he was dead. Vézé tried to clench and loosen his numb left arm. The numbness was still there, and he could use his left arm. Wei Ze let go of the hilt of the saber in his right hand, letting the Qing soldier's corpse, with a single saber on his head, fall to the ground. His right foot stepped on the center of the spear shaft, and with a flick, the spear flew into the air. Vézé caught the spear in mid-air. With one thrust, the spear pierced into the back of the Qing Army soldier's bald head, where the spine and the head met. Once that spot was pierced by a sharp blade, the worst case would be instant death, while the lightest case would be permanent paralysis.

Wei Ze twisted the spear shaft, causing the spear head to rotate and widen the wound. Next, he easily pulled out his spear. Wei Ze instantly locked onto the easiest spot to stab when he saw the bald heads swaying in front of him. Then, he thrust his spear into the joint between the spine and the skull.