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"Master, the ferry is in front of us!" One of the Qian Yong said to Wei Changrong with a flattering expression. After speaking, the Qian Yong glanced at Wei Changrong out of the corner of his eye. He wanted to see something from Wei Changrong's tense face.
Wei Changrong's expression was very serious because he didn't know what to think at the moment.
Not long ago, Wei Changrong hid behind the people of Guilin City and easily approached a Qing Army camp outside the city. With an order, Wei Changrong led the troops to launch a surprise attack. "Follow me and kill our way in!"
The Qing Army never expected to encounter such a close and sudden attack. Very soon, the unlucky Qing Army were killed and their bodies littered the ground. The lucky Qing Army fled.
How could Wei Changrong let the Qing Army escape? He left two soldiers to clean up the Qing Army while he chased after the fleeing Qing Army with a half-soldier.
The killing in the residential area quickly attracted the attention of the people of Guilin. The people who didn't dare participate cheered for the black-haired Taiping army and pointed out the direction in which the Qing Army escaped and where the Qing Army was hiding. The people who dared to participate used benches to smash the Qing Army. Some even carried sticks and other things to join in the clean-up of the Qing Army.
With the combined efforts of the Taiping army and the people of Guilin City, the Qing Army was quickly killed. The Qing Army ran into another Qing Army when they ran out of a street.
"Come and help!" The fleeing Qing Army yelled at their allies.
But the allies didn't help. Instead, they picked up their weapons and attacked the fleeing Qing Army. While the two sides were busy fighting, they found that both sides were surrounded by Wei Changrong.
Wei Changrong discovered that the Qing Army was in a state of internal strife. He strategically surrounded the Qing Army. Thereupon, the two Qing Army units nimbly laid down their weapons and surrendered. After a simple interrogation, Wei Changrong figured out what had happened. Ever since the Qing Army started to besiege Yong 'an, Qian Yong and Chu Yong have been engaged in several large-scale fights. Both sides had accumulated hatred that was higher than the mountains and deeper than the seas.
The one who was ambushed by Wei Changrong was Chu Yong, and the one who blocked Chu Yong's escape route was Qian Yong. A few days ago, the Taiping army lifted the siege on Guilin and began to move north. Both Qian Yong and Chu Yong arrived at Guilin City. Both sides bumped into each other while robbing some civilians, and a large scale fight broke out between the two sides. Qian Yong had suffered quite a bit. This time, he was here to get back at them. Seeing Chu Yong run over, the Qian Yong soldiers naturally rolled up their sleeves and went to fight. Who would have known that the Taiping army was actually following behind them.
Qian Yong were rather honest, seeing that they were surrounded and their lives were in danger. Their leader immediately expressed that if Wei Changrong could help them get rid of Chu Yong and give them 3000 taels of silver, Qian Yong wouldn't mind helping Wei Changrong enter Guilin City. In Guilin City, there were some other troops who had conflicts with Qian Yong. If Wei Changrong led the troops to attack, it would be a win-win situation for the Taiping army and Qian Yong.
The shamelessness of this suggestion and the boldness of it was an eye-opener for Wei Changrong. However, killing his way into Guilin City wasn't Wei Changrong's goal. His mission was to harass Guilin City. Of course, the best outcome would be to snatch a boat to cross the river. What Vézé wanted most was to cross the river as soon as possible.
In this moment of hesitation, the leader of Brave Qian saw some clues. He asked tentatively, "I wonder what this master wants?"
"I want a boat!" Wei Changrong replied. At this moment, he made up his mind. If Qian Yong couldn't help him get a boat, then Wei Changrong could only kill these Qian Yong and Chu Yong who had put down their weapons.
After hearing Wei Changrong's words, the leader of Brave Qian Yong almost patted his chest and said, "The boat is with Zhang Zhao. If master wants to go, we are willing to lead the way for master!"
Zhang Zhao came from the Tian Di Hui's navy and once joined the Taiping Rebellion. Later, when he saw that the Taiping Rebellion didn't seem to be able to succeed, he defected and joined the Qing Army. Although he defected, Zhang Zhao still colluded with the Taiping Rebellion in private. Moreover, Zhang Zhao's subordinates also had conflicts with Qian Yong.
After some haggling, Wei Changrong and the leader of Brave Qian Yong finally reached an agreement. Qian Yong would take Wei Changrong to launch a sneak attack on the ferry controlled by Zhang Zhao's troops. Naturally, Wei Changrong had to personally take charge of the battle. If Wei Changrong could seize the boat, then he would have to pay Qian Yong 800 taels of silver as a reward.
No matter how he looked at it, Qian Yong's suggestion seemed to be a complete trap. However, Wei Changrong couldn't help but want to believe it was true. After thinking for a while with a straight face, Wei Changrong finally made up his mind. "Let's try it!"
First, they executed the captured Chu Yong. The Qian Yong didn't bring any weapons. Wei Changrong's troops wore the military hats of the Qing Army and used their weapons to force them from behind. If the Qian Yong made the slightest movement, Wei Changrong's troops would kill them all first. After arranging the strategy, the brothers that Wei Changrong had left behind in the Chu Yong camp had already swept through the camp. They took out more than 10,000 taels of gold and silver. Other than some rations, the Taiping army didn't touch anything else in the Chu Yong camp. This mixed group of troops headed straight for the ferry by the river.
As soon as the troops left, the commoners rushed into the Chu Yong camp and began to search for the goods. The sound of people calling for their friends, the noise of people struggling for a long time, and even the sound of people fighting after the conflict escalated spread throughout the camp. Wei Changrong was quite satisfied with this. With these people making a ruckus, they could at least buy some time for the troops.
This wasn't the first time that the Taiping army had cooperated with the Qing Army. Back in Yong 'an, both sides had cooperated a lot. Moreover, both sides paid particular attention to integrity. Once an agreement was made, it was obvious that they wouldn't cheat the old or the young. However, Wei Changrong didn't participate in this. He had followed Vézé and fought hard against the Qing Army. This was the first time that he had cooperated with the Qing Army.
The troops moved unimpeded along the way. When the commoners saw the Qing Army, they would avoid them. When this mixed group of troops neared the ferry, Chief Qian Yong said with fear and flattery, "Master, the ferry is right in front of us!"
Seeing Wei Changrong's expression, Chief Qian Yong said tentatively, "Master, I can only bring you up to this point. If we go any further, it will be considered a rebellion. I hope that Master can understand us. "
They were only about 100 meters away from the ferry. If they ran fast, they would be able to reach the ferry in no time. At this time, there were seven or eight boats with black awnings anchored at the ferry. Although they weren't big, they weren't small either. Wei Changrong asked Liang Zhangtai, who was beside him, "What do you think of these boats?"
"They can be used. Going against the current is very slow, "Liang Zhangtai replied.
If they wanted to go against the current, they had to use large boats with sails. Several waves of captives had said that the large boats had either been taken away by the Taiping army or were in the hands of the Qing Army, carrying the Qing Army to pursue the Taiping army. At the moment, there were probably only so many boats that could be used.
Wei Changrong ordered someone to bring a few pouches filled with silver and gave them to Chief Qian Yong. "Here are 800 taels of silver. Keep it well. If you escape back … "
Leader Qian Yong took the pouch with a smile on his face. He opened it and carefully looked at the silver inside. The weight was about the same. Then he said with a smile, "We, the people of Jianghu, rely on our friends and trust. What are we going to do by reporting? Could it be that we want to fight? "
This reasoning was very straightforward, but no matter how Wei Changrong listened, he didn't like it. Ignoring what Chief Qian Yong thought, Wei Changrong ordered, "Brothers, charge!"
However, with this slight delay, there were still some variables in the situation. At the ferry crossing, Zhang Zhao and his men saw the other soldiers coming from a distance, they became vigilant. By the time Wei Changrong and his men rushed out, they heard the Qing Army shouting, "The Taiping army is coming! Quickly board the boats! "
Most of Zhang Zhao's subordinates came from the navy, so they boarded the boats very quickly. By the time Wei Changrong and his men arrived at the ferry crossing, the five boats had already started moving. They were about two, three zhang away from the shore. Wei Changrong and his men only managed to seize three boats.
While he was still angry, a man unexpectedly stood out from the five boats and shouted in Tian Di Hui's language. Liang Changtai came from the navy, so as soon as he heard it, he understood the content of the language.
He shouted a few words to the man on the opposite boat. After communicating for a moment, he turned to Wei Changrong and said, "Commander Wei, the brother on the other side said that if we want the boats, we must give them 3000 taels of silver."
"What nonsense are they talking about?" Ruan Xihao was furious. "Those five broken boats are not worth 3000 taels of silver."
Wei Changrong was not agitated. He asked doubtfully, "Are they really willing to sell the boats to us?"
Liang Changtai replied, "That's right. Moreover, they also said that if we wait any longer, I'm afraid Zhang Zhao will return with the other boats. Let's make a decision quickly. "
"We'll buy them!" Wei Changrong made his decision without hesitation.
"Commander Wei, they want us to swear an oath, otherwise they won't come any closer!" Liang Changtai continued.
Wei Changrong immediately replied, "Then there's no harm in swearing an oath. As long as we want the boats, we won't harm their lives."
Under Wei Changrong's command, the Taiping army began to retreat, leaving only the Qing Army, which had about the same number of people as the Qing Army on the boats, on the shore. Liang Changtai continued to shout to the Qing Army on the boats. After some negotiation, a boat with a black awning approached the shore. It was the man who had shouted earlier, jumping off the boat. Wei Changrong didn't say much. He ordered his men to bring three thousand taels of silver over. The man did a rough count and called the other boats back.
When the boats returned to the shore, the leader of the Qing Army said to Wei Changrong, "Sir, we've also joined the Taiping army. We know that we follow the rules. Since you're so straightforward, I might as well inform you that the Taiping army has already reached Xing 'an. If you're going to chase after the Taiping army, it's better not to go directly to Xing' an. There are several commanders-in-chief and commander-in-chief overseeing Jiangbei. It's better for you to bypass them! "
Wei Changrong had been in Jianghu before. He originally thought that the Qing Army and Jianghu were two completely different worlds. His experiences outside Guilin made Wei Changrong understand one thing. A considerable portion of the Qing Army was basically the same as the heroes of the underworld. The only difference was that the heroes of the underworld could only rely on themselves to rob others, while the government could use the name of the government to do all kinds of things. This could be considered a genuine case of taking advantage of both the underworld and the underworld.
No matter what, the boats were finally in their hands. Wei Changrong first ordered Liang Changtai, Ruan Xihao, and the others to carefully inspect the boats to make sure that they hadn't been tampered with. Only then did he bid farewell to Zhang Zhao's group of sailors. Vézé's troops didn't lack sailors. The sailors at the front skillfully operated the black awning boats. They loaded the seized money, gunpowder, and rations and took the lead to go downstream, chasing after Vézé and the others.
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