Lu Yizhong was furious, thinking that you, a crazy student, were just a scholar. He insisted on holding on to your talent and letting it go. He pointed at his nose and reprimanded: "You are a crazy and rebellious person. If you talk nonsense again, I will punish you for disturbing the morale of the army!"
"Hmph, do you still want me to disturb the morale of the army?" Qian Taichong didn't buy it and was about to retort when someone came looking for them.
"Gentlemen, please go to the camp meeting as soon as possible!"
When leaving the city, Qian Taichong found that all the troops at the gate of the city had been replaced by the people and horses of the Zhenbiao, and all the swords and guns were neatly unsheathed.
A group of horses rolled through the city gate. The officers and soldiers at the city gate did not close the city gate after they left. The city gate remained open to facilitate the entry and exit of people and horses.
In the Chinese military camp, although He Rubin's servants and Zhenbiao were still quite stable, this rain of rockets had reduced the morale of the camp to the lowest level. Many people were whispering, thinking that they must retreat.
In the big tent, the camp leaders have arrived. They are now well aware of the power of the Kun Thief's firearms. There is no sense of security in setting up camp here. Moreover, no matter how high the wall is built or how deep the trench is dug, it will not be enough.
Rockets can be fired from more than ten miles away, and there are hundreds of them in one shot. This battle can no longer be fought.
The generals had no will to fight, and the commander also felt that the fight could not go on. He Rubin knew that it was meaningless to insist on setting up camp in Chengmai to confront the Kun bandits at this time. Now the morale of the army had collapsed, and the food road could not be restored soon.
It would be better to retreat to Qiongshan to get food before the troops suffered a devastating blow. At least there would be room to take responsibility. However, he did not have the right to make such a decision to retreat alone, so he turned his attention to Zhao Ruyi.
Zhao Ruyi had long wanted to retreat - this time the crusade against the Kun thieves was clearly destined to fail, and the fire attack just now scared him so much that he almost left his body. This was the first time he encountered an indiscriminate long-range attack from behind the front line. He
One of his servants was directly hit by a rocket and died on the spot during the rocket attack. He hoped to escape from such a desperate situation as soon as possible. Seeing that all the generals wanted to retreat, he agreed.
Next, they discussed the order of the retreat of each battalion and the flags and methods of communication. He Rubin knew that it would be difficult for him to explain to the governor and the court this time when he retreated, so he couldn't help but look dark and let everyone discuss it without saying a word. Zhao Ruyi saw
He looked bad, fearing that he would go crazy or commit suicide because of the sudden loss of his mind. Once the general died, the 20,000 troops would immediately collapse. So he loudly said to the generals:
"My troops have been victorious against the bandits, but the stone mountain has suffered a slight setback. Let's go back to Qiongshan to eat before we worry about it!"
At that moment, he said a lot of words to boost the morale of the generals, which restored the atmosphere in the tent a little. He decided to set the retreat time early tomorrow morning to avoid confusion and confusion caused by the confusion and loss caused by the troops breaking out at night.
It was stipulated that Chen Renjie would take General Qiongya's troops and the local troops from Hainan, with Xiang Yong at the front responsible for opening the way. Among the five generals, Tang Yunwen's troops were the most complete, and most of the team were locals. The terrain
We are familiar with it. Cao Jun and Xiang Yong’s hometown camps are mostly in the Qiongshan and Wenchang areas, so their fighting spirit to attack Lingao is not high, but they should still have the fighting will to seize the road and fight back.
The ministries followed closely and fought and moved away. The troops behind the palace were guarded by the Zhenbiao Camp, led by the guerrilla Sun Changzuo. He Rubin assigned him 2,000 troops, including 100 horsemen from He Rubin and 100 from Song Ming.
Riding. Sun Changzuo knew that these 200 horses were used by Master Zhentai to save his life. He was very grateful at the moment and said that he would lead his troops to fight to the death against the rear.
There was also Li Modao's firearms battalion in the palace army. This firearms battalion that lost the cannon was useless in everyone's opinion, so Li Modao could only take the firearms battalion to defend the camp, and the last one left the camp and retreated. How?
Bin's instructions to him were that if the road was cut off and he could not evacuate, he would retreat directly to the center of Chengmai County to defend.
After the generals resigned, He Rubin asked Zhao Ruyi: "My lord, please rest in the old camp in this town and retreat with the old camp after daybreak."
Zhao Ruyi said: "The students still have some luggage that they have not packed in the city..."
"This town will send people to handle it immediately."
"No, no," Zhao Ruyi said quickly, "there are many manuscripts and books among them. If the students don't go there and the servants are ignorant, I'm afraid they won't be able to understand them clearly."
"Okay, sir, please go back quickly."
Zhao Ruyi took his servant Pegasus and hurried back to the Song residence in the city, and the staff also came back one after another. As soon as these people came back, the courtyards of the big houses in the city where the Song residence and the staff lived became a mess. Zhao Ruyi supervised this time
The army was originally prepared to plunder along the road. When they arrived at Lingao, they were able to obtain many of the Kun thieves' toys and treasures. So they brought many empty boxes and servants. Although the army was defeated too quickly this time, they were still hungry.
However, due to the filial piety of the lieutenant generals and the dedication of the gentry along the way, after entering Chengmai this time, he received many gifts from the Chengmai County Magistrate and the gentry in the county. Song Zonghui also gave him fifty taels of silver because he asked for his protection.
, a calligraphy and painting by a famous artist of this dynasty.
As soon as he returned to Song's house, he ordered his servants to pack all the belongings into boxes and bundle them. He also sent people to seize the people's vehicles and prepare to escape.
Although the staff were not officials, they received various gifts along the way, and they had to be packed and taken away one by one. They were no better than Zhao Ruyi, who brought with him seventy or eighty servants - the illustrious Lu Yizhong, who brought thirty or forty servants with him.
Servants, generally poor scholars like Qian Taichong, only have one little boy servant. So some people only pick up soft goods and pack them into boxes, while some even take away a few pieces of local cotton cloth as a gift. It is a mess for a while.
There was a lot of people. While the servants of each family were packing their luggage, they simply carried their belongings at will in the living room of Song House, including all the furnishings on the table, the calligraphy and paintings on the wall, and even the curtains on the bed.
The servants of the Song family all exclaimed, "We've been attacked by official thieves!" Seeing the chaos, Song Huizong ordered his family members to send their family members, old and young, to the inner courtyard.
One day, he resisted the robbery by the insurgents and hurriedly went to find Chang Qingyun.
Chang Qingyun was supervising several servants to bundle and carry the luggage. While he was loudly instructing the servants, he kept scolding them for their inefficiency. A servant accidentally spread the bundled luggage, and several local specialties were thrown away.
Bebu scattered all over the ground. Chang Qingyun roared again and again.
"What's the point of suddenly packing up?" He was panicked. In fact, Song Huizong had already guessed that the officers and soldiers were going to flee for their lives, but he still held on to a glimmer of hope, hoping that this was just a camp move.
Chang Qingyun said to him in a low voice because he had treated him very kindly these past few days, "To be honest, the army is out of food and grass, and was burned by the Kun bandits' rockets for a while, so our troops are about to return to Qiongshan."
This news was like a bolt from the blue, and Song Zonghui almost fainted - what would happen to the county if the officers and soldiers fled?
"I am about to return to Qiongshan, but I don't know when I will come back to Chengmai?"
"This is a major military matter, how do we know?" Chang Qingyun said, "In my opinion, it can take as little as three months and as long as half a year."
"This, this," Song Zonghui said in a panic. As soon as the officers and soldiers left, the army of thieves was under the city. The fall of the city was a matter of time. "I wonder how many soldiers and horses are left to guard the city?"
Chang Qingyun said impatiently: "Students don't even know about the important military affairs."
Song Zonghui stood there for a long time, until a staff member came to him and asked him to help levy a few chicken buses and civilian workers to transport his luggage. He quickly agreed casually and rushed to the county government office.
Liu Jingxuan was in the county office as anxious as a headless chicken. The rocket attack just now made him frightened. He was afraid that the thieves would take the opportunity to attack the city. While urging the regiment's brave people to put out the fire, he personally led people to the city to check the situation. He saw many military camps outside.
There were fires everywhere and people and horses were noisy. His heart sank to the bottom. Finally, he waited until the fires everywhere were extinguished and the thieves did not attack the city. Then he went down to the city and returned to the Yamen, where he had someone cook him a supper.
Before he finished the bowl of rice noodles, he received news that the camps outside the city and inside the city were making noises, and they didn't know what was going on. Liu Jingxuan quickly put the bowl down and asked someone to wring a hot hand towel, and he was ready to wipe it.
Went out to inquire. As soon as the servant's handkerchief was brought, Song Zonghui arrived in a hurry.
He didn't have time to be polite to the county magistrate, so he quickly told him the news that the officers and troops were preparing to withdraw to Qiongshan at dawn.
"Seriously?!" Liu Jingxuan almost jumped up, not even paying attention to the rice noodles that had not been wiped off the corner of his mouth. "My soldiers are leaving?"
"Seriously!" Song Zong would tell the staff and officers in the city who were packing their luggage one by one. He also told what Chang Qingyun said. Then he sighed: "What Mr. Chang said is not true."
"What should we do?" Liu Jingxuan's face turned pale. "As soon as the officers and soldiers leave, the thieves will come to attack the city. The thieves' firearms are so powerful..." At this point, he could no longer say anything, even though they were defending the city at the beginning.
We stayed in Chengmai for dozens of days, but it was only because the thieves surrounded us but did not fight, it did not mean that we could not capture the city.
"I think we are the only gentry in the city who are climbing up the mountain together. Please stay..."
Liu Jingxuan knew that this method was not a solution at all. Now that the food route was cut off, and they were attacked by gunmen, the morale of the army was in chaos. Isn't the life and death of tens of thousands of General He's men and his own head more important than this small county town?
It was indeed a crime for him to fall into the county seat, but it was by no means a capital crime. Why was there any need to stay in this desperate place and share the fate of the county's soldiers and civilians?
Thinking of this, Liu Jingxuan shed tears and said: "I think this method is of no use. I just pity the gentry people in this city!" He sighed and declared that once the city was breached, he would commit suicide and die for his country.
"I think it's better for you to go to the old camp of He Zhentai as soon as possible. We can use the pros and cons and let Master Zhentai leave a force to help defend the city." The colleagues in the Yamen suggested.
"Most of the food and grass in the city have been requisitioned by the army. Even if there are soldiers to defend the city, they can't hold it without food supply." Liu Jingxuan sighed.
Song Zonghui was not thinking about this, but that once the officers and soldiers escaped, they would inevitably rob the city before leaving. Although He Rubin led the troops from the province, there was no guarantee that he would be able to suppress his men. Thinking of this, he felt that he might as well
No need for officers and soldiers - since the 20,000 officers and soldiers have to flee in the face of the Kun bandits, what is the use of leaving 5,000 people? If the Kun bandits are to fall into the city, it will only be a matter of time.
The officials in the yamen had the responsibility to defend the territory and had to defend to the death, but the common people like them did not have to fight to the end. They were already thinking of surrendering if the Kun thieves tried to attack the city. At the moment, they just echoed a few words.
Sound, but no more words.
During the discussion, a flying horse from the primary school came to deliver an order: The entire county must immediately prepare 20,000 kilograms of dry food, and at the same time recruit civilians and chicken buses to deliver it to the camp before dawn.
"It's easy to prepare dry food. The official immediately arranged for each household to light a fire to cook. But the peasants and the chicken bus are all trapped in the city now, and the official can't leave the city gate. How can we prepare?" Liu Jingxuan asked anxiously.
"This is an order from the adults, and it has nothing to do with the young one." The junior colonel rolled his eyes and said, "It must be done before dawn!" As he said that, he flew off again.
Liu Jingxuan was so worried that although Chengmai was a large county in Hainan, the number of men he could recruit in the county was only a few hundred. Most of the soldiers who defended the city were provided by villages near the city. Steamed Er
Tens of kilograms of dry food was not an errand that could be done in a moment. He wanted to convene a meeting of Jin gentry at starry night. Or Song Zonghui muttered: "We will leave at dawn, why bother talking?"
Liu Jingxuan knew what he meant, and he was a little worried: "What if the general asks about it?"
Song Zonghui sneered: "I'm afraid it won't be too late to ask about this by then." He then whispered that now he just asked the women to light the fire to make dry food and wait for the dry food to be shipped out at dawn.
"...even dry food does not need to be prepared. Firstly, there is not enough time. Secondly, when the troops arrive, they are eager to return home. They will surely rush to leave at dawn. How can there be time to wait for the dry food from the county in peace?
Until..." Song Zonghui said in a low voice that if you have a few thousand kilograms of dry food, you can just take care of it. There is no need to waste more of the county's food reserves.
Liu Jingxuan listened to Song Zonghui's suggestion and arranged for people to make dry food. At the same time, he asked people to ring gongs to recruit the people in response to the accident. The people in the city hid one after another. Song Zonghui gathered all the heroes and waited at three city gates.
, just wait for the officers and soldiers at the city gate to leave, and immediately rush to close the city gate to prevent the officers and soldiers from taking advantage of the chaos to rob.
The people in the county were making nervous preparations, and some of the troops and staff officers originally stationed in the city were also heading out of the city. Some people took the opportunity to rob the city, and there were several fires in the city, and there were people slashing and killing, shouting and begging.
There was a commotion. Several corpses killed by rebel soldiers were lying on the street in front of the county government office. The gate of the county government office had been closed, heavy bolts were fastened, and door bars were added. Liu Jingxuan led dozens of people in the lobby
The guardian held the seal. He was very scared. More than once, a small group of rebel soldiers broke into the county government office with dazzling swords and guns, demanding "departure money" from him. There were also officers who came with their own soldiers, who were very polite.
He was asked to "temporarily pay the money for horse feed". Not only was he afraid that the officers and soldiers would rob the county treasury and he would not be able to explain it, he was also worried about his wife and concubines in the back office, fearing that the rebel soldiers would break in and insult them.
He Rubin didn't know that the officers and soldiers in the city had been driven away as if they were enemies. He was sending people to urge the troops and staff in the city to leave the city quickly, and at the same time gathered all the troops near the old camp. He ordered that all the clumsy equipment should be discarded, and only food, grass and light equipment should be taken.
Firearms. He asked Li Mo to put all the remaining cannons in the firearm camp on the fort, and when covering the retreat, he discharged all the cannons and threw them away.
Zhao Ruyi said in a low voice: "I might not be able to account for the many discarded armored weapons and equipment. According to the student's opinion, it is better to send them all to Chengmai County and leave 500 people to help defend the city."
He Rubin was convinced, and immediately ordered all the armored weapons and equipment to be discarded to be transported to the county town, leaving a Qian Zong and 500 soldiers to help guard the city.
In the blink of an eye, the sky was already dark, and He Rubin immediately ordered the entire army to break camp and set off. Chen Renjie led Qiongya's troops and the local cao army at the front, followed by 10,000 defeated soldiers from all walks of life, and then his
The headquarters' 2,000 elite men cover the old camp and the baggage.
Although he had already arranged for unused heavy equipment and redundant armored weapons to be sent to Chengmai County in advance, things happened in a hurry and many officers and soldiers in the camp were eager to escape and left the camp without cleaning up.
Discarded weapons and armor were everywhere.
He heard the report that Chen Renjie's troops had set off in formation, and he felt a little more at ease. What he was most afraid of was that the soldiers would rush to escape in fear and nervousness, which would cause chaos in the retreat. Even if there were only 2,000 or 3,000 Kun thieves, they would still be able to seize the opportunity.
The officers and soldiers suffered a huge defeat. So He Rubin was very nervous and asked people to go out from time to time to investigate the retreat of various troops.
Kun Thief is very good at detecting horses. Every time he intercepts the Tang Ma sent by him, even Xi Zuo rarely returns, and he has not captured a single prisoner in several battles. The situation on Kun Thief is as deep as the sea, and even the slightest news cannot be transmitted.
Come. He Rubin knew that he was like a blind man and a blind horse. He could only fight the battle by groping step by step. He was in a very dangerous situation.
Soon after Chen Renjie's team set off, the following troops also set off one by one. He felt relieved after receiving the news that all the troops in the front team were safe and had gone three or four miles away. He thought about retreating to Qiongshan
What to do next and how to report it to the commander of the army - he knew that Zhao Ruyi would definitely blackmail him for a sum of money... While he was thinking about it, he suddenly heard a series of rumbling cannons outside, so dense that there were almost countless sounds.
. He was startled, wondering where the Kun bandits had come from with so many cannons. Then there were people shouting and neighing, and there was chaos. He was shocked and immediately stood up and asked hurriedly:
"What's going on outside?"
"The Kun bandits are attacking!" a soldier hurriedly reported, "cannons are being fired in the east!"
He Rubin's heart sank. To the east was the direction in which Chen Renjie's front team was retreating. Could it be that the Kun thieves had already set up a defense line on the road to prevent the officers and soldiers from retreating?
In a moment, the sound of artillery and gunfire outside became more and more intense, and the noise in the camp became louder and louder. Even his target camp began to have fluctuations. He was about to send people to explore again, and the Chinese army guard Ye
Zhengfang hurried in and reported:
"Former army! Former army!" He seemed to be breathless in fear, "Former army was defeated!"