"Your Majesty! We are already in Qiyang County ahead. The brothers who opened the way have already seen the flags of the armies on the north bank of the Xiangjiang River. We are here!"
Several fast horses rushed back from the front. The knights on the horses were all sweating profusely, with their sleeves rolled up high, and they reported to Seng Gelinqin one after another.
The large group of troops led by Seng Gelinqin were resting on the ground. Most of the Eight Banners soldiers from Jingzhou were lying on the official road and smoking. Their short and thin war horses were led by their slaves to drink water and wash themselves at a nearby stream. Only More than a hundred Mongolian men who followed Senggelinqin from the Horqin Grassland were still somewhat strong, and they endured fatigue and personally took care of the short and strong Mongolian war horses they rode.
Of course, Seng Gelinqin himself is very energetic. He is the only "True Batulu" among the highest levels of the Qing Dynasty today. He is truly proficient in bow and horse and has superb martial arts. He can even sleep on horseback. Days and nights are not a big deal, the 600-mile march from Xiangming to Qiyang is not even a hair to Seng Gelinqin - this is not a 600-mile march without sleep for days and nights, it is just It’s just traveling a hundred miles a day.
Moreover, it is already the end of October in the lunar calendar, which is already the beginning of winter. The climate in central Hunan is cool and pleasant, which is most suitable for marching. The road from Xiangyin to Qiyang is not marching in enemy territory, but in the areas controlled by the Qing Dynasty. , along the way there are various government agencies providing food, drink and accommodation, and there are enough foreign cigarette pipes!
Given these conditions, how difficult is it to run a hundred miles a day?
However, one-third of the Jingzhou Eight Banners "powerful troops" could not keep up with the team. From the 2,000 regular members, 2,000 more members, and servants when they set out from Xiangyin, a total of 4,000 people were left, and now only 2,600 are left. Seven hundred... Of the more than a thousand people left behind, half fell behind on the day they set off from Xiangyin, and most of them fell behind because they couldn't ride a horse.
The majestic Jingzhou Eight Banners cavalry team wore vests, but they didn’t know how to ride a horse! As soon as Seng Gelinqin started running with the team, he rolled off the saddle one after another.
The remaining hundreds of people fell behind one after another because they could not endure the hardship of marching for days... Hundreds of miles a day, there were horses to ride on, servants to serve, and government officials to entertain along the way. How can he pretend to be an invincible heavenly soldier and scare the green camp into group training? However, Seng Gelinqin is not a stickman who knows nothing. He already knew the virtues of the so-called Eight Banners force? This is why he had to pull the two thousand Eight Banners vests from Jingzhou. The reason for traveling 600 miles.
If you want to be embarrassed, you should lose it on the 600-mile journey, but don't lose it in front of the group of green soldiers and regiment training under Saishan'a. Otherwise, how can he use the "strong force" of the Eight Banners garrisoned in Jingzhou to scare them?
Although the corruption of the Eight Banners soldiers was no secret in the Qing Dynasty, it is not entirely true to say that the power of the Tigers two hundred years ago is now gone. After all, no rebel Han army has ever defeated a large-scale army. Yes, there is a powerful cavalry team with the Eight Banners' "True Heavenly Soldiers" as the main force!
Since the Eight Banners cavalry has not been severely punished by the Han people, Seng Gelinqin can hang out this two-hundred-year-old tiger skin to frighten the green battalion on the Hunan front line, train them in regiments, and coax them to go to the front line to be used as cannon fodder. As for how to use this cannon fodder, he had to think carefully...
Sitting on the edge of the official road, chewing raw pickled beef jerky, I repeatedly deduced in my mind the upcoming battle that would determine the fate of the Qing Dynasty.
When he heard the report from the sentry, Seng Gelinqin was not in a hurry to ask the Eight Banners soldiers below to get up and march. Instead, he turned around and said to a dignified deputy capital commander who was leading the Jingzhou Eight Banners cavalry from the south: "Xiufeng, let the soldiers below No matter how good your brother is, you must eat enough, drink enough, and smoke enough foreign cigarettes!
Also, when we form the team later, ask the strong servants who are on duty to go in front and put on their fucking cotton armor and helmet. They must show off the majesty of the Eight Banners Heavenly Soldiers!"
This deputy commander has an official face with "the atmosphere of the bureau", plump, thick eyebrows, big eyes, white skin, high nose, and a neatly trimmed goatee. His name is also good, " "Guan Wen", it sounds like he is an official. But the old surname is a bit different, it is "Wang Jia". This is not an authentic Manchu surname, but a surname changed by the Han people after they raised the flag.
My original surname was Wang, but after I became a bannerman, I changed it to Wang Jia.
If Zeng Guofan raised the flag, it would be "Zeng Jia". Unfortunately, Zeng Guofan was not "Zeng Jia. Guofan" until his death, and Guan Wen was reincarnated before Zeng Guofan. He was Zeng Guofan's unattainable coated slave at birth, and he was still a regular The servants of the white flag are the servants of the emperor!
"twitter!"
Wang Jia. Guanwen made a thousand salute without saying any compliments. He immediately stood up and trotted all the way to greet the Eight Banners soldiers below. He was about fifty years old, and he was so agile and energetic. His energy level is unparalleled by many Eight Flags Stick boys in their twenties. Moreover, his energy level is not sustained by foreign cigarettes, so he is not good at it.
Looking at Guan Wen's vigorous and resolute appearance, Seng Gelinqin also nodded with satisfaction - the Qing Dynasty wanted such a good man. After this battle was over,
About two hours later, He Chun, Xiang Rong, Bao Qibao, Qin Dingsan, Sun Yingzhao, Liu Changqing, Jiang Zhongyuan and others who had been waiting outside their camp until their calves were sore, finally saw them coming slowly. The powerful force of Two Thousand Eight Banners is finally here!
Several Han army leaders looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief - they had walked for more than ten miles for two hours! Just now they thought that the monk king and his lieutenants had all lost their way and were heading to Lingling. Ah! Hunan Admiral Bao Qibao even asked his Goshiha to look for him at the intersection toward Lingling—but he couldn’t go to Lingling!
Xiao Chaogui and Luo Yaoguo in the north are extremely fierce, killing officers and soldiers without blinking an eye. Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing in the south are not easy to use. If Seng Gelinqin's two thousand eight-banner soldiers are going to run into them, they might all become loyal. This is After a while, they finally saw the Eight Banners soldiers coming slowly, and these few people finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Quickly, go and inform Saidou!"
Bao Qibao quickly ordered Goshiha beside him to inform the imperial envoy Saishang'a. Saishang'a was the official imperial envoy, and Seng Gelinqin was just the assistant minister. Naturally, there was no reason to welcome the aide directly, so he just waited in the Chinese army's tent. .Just when Geshiha of Bao Junmen went to invite people, more than 2,000 Eight Banners troops under Seng Gelinqin finally appeared among Xiang Rong, Bao Qibao, Qin Dingsan, Sun Yingzhao, Liu Changqing, Jiang Zhongyuan, He Chun and others. In sight!
All of them were wearing cotton armor, carrying spear helmets on their heads, carrying shotguns on their backs, carrying sabers, bows and arrows. They held a spear in one hand and a rein in the other. They formed a column and marched slowly, and everyone held their coins. In addition to the sound of horse hooves, , there was no other sound, it was extremely quiet! Among the troops, there were dozens of military flags fluttering in the wind. From a distance, they looked murderous.
Several Han military attachés who had always looked down on the Eight Banners soldiers were shocked when they saw this scene - Seng Gelinqin is quite good at acting, but I wonder what the Northern Route Army will do when they encounter the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? That Taiping Angel Luo Yaoguo Both the King of the West and Xiao Chaogui were very vicious, and it is said that there was also a bull demon king who swallowed alive Yin Lipei, the deputy general of the Tongguan Association!
The thought of going north to fight Luo Tiantian, King Xiao Xi, King Niu Demon, and a group of "famous generals" of the Qing Dynasty gave me a bad feeling. A...
"Sai Tang, do you understand what the emperor means?"
In Saishang'a's Chinese army tent, the imperial envoy Saishang'a was holding a letter from the imperial court and looking over it over and over.
The imperial edict is not issued openly, which is the so-called secret edict or central edict. Only the people designated by the emperor can read it. As for the imperial edict that Saishang'a is holding, only he and Seng Gelinqin can read it. Others in the big tent can't read it. All I could do was stare at it. "Your Majesty, your Majesty is so... so graceful!"
After reading Xianfeng's secret decree, Sai Shang'a let out a long sigh and cupped his fist in the void. Seng Gelinqin nodded and said: "Zhongtang, how will the next battle be fought..."
Sai Shang'a saw that Seng Gelinqin was stuck mid-sentence. He immediately understood and said, "I am an old scholar. Now he is tired of fighting and is in a disadvantageous situation. He has long been in disarray. But it was ordered by the prince." Seng Gelinqin smiled. He nodded and said, "Since the main hall has said so, I will arrange it on your behalf."
"Then it's time to work." Saishana stroked his beard and said with a smile.
Seng Gelinqin twirled his beard and said with a smile: "The king has arranged it... This time our target is Xiangtan, Yisuhe City, Xiayi, and Xinzhen. As long as we occupy these four points, This will cut off the communication between Changsha and Zhuzhou!
Among them, Cheng Zhijun has already led troops in Xiangtan County. It is up to us to stop in Yisuhe City, Xiaxin Town. Saitang, please do your hard work and take Xiangjunmen, Baojunmen, and Mr. Liu Soldiers, Commander-in-Chief Sun and Commander-in-Chief Qin will take the first step, and I, the prefect Jiang, and the Commander-in-Chief will take one step behind with their heavy artillery."
Saishang'a raised his eyebrows slightly and thought: "Although I have many admirals, general soldiers, and a prefect who leads troops, there are actually not many soldiers! The two military sects have 5,000 men and women under them respectively. There are three thousand people. The four general soldiers together are less than ten thousand people. Jiang Zhongyuan, the candidate prefect, has annexed the two thousand regiment training in Lingling County and recruited a group of new soldiers from his hometown Xinning. Now there are four to five thousand people. In addition to my own 2,000 pacesetters... the total is 25,000 people. Seng Gelinqin brought more than 2,000 people, which is only 27,000 people.
This is not a big army. Is it necessary to separate the front and rear teams? If the troops are divided, they will be weak...
"Okay, it all depends on the prince's orders." Sai Shang'a had objections in his heart, but he still had to obey Seng Gelinqin in order to save face.
Because that’s what Xianfeng’s secret edict said!
He continues to be in front of the Imperial Minister, but he must listen to the words of the Assistant Minister Seng Gelinqin!
Chapter completed!