Chapter 103 Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick
The big sun in the sky is still scorching.
Xu Guangjin, wearing a heavy cotton armor, was sweating profusely, and the sweat soon soaked his entire body.
While wiping the sweat off his face with his sleeve, Xu Guangjin shouted at his troops to advance.
At this moment, one of his close followers suddenly shouted excitedly.
"Governor, Governor, look! The bandit's hot air balloon is descending!"
The attendant pointed his finger at the distant sky, and was quite excited.
Upon hearing this, Xu Guangjin subconsciously looked up at the sky in the distance.
The hot air balloon that had been floating in the sky finally ran out of fuel and began to slowly descend.
Seeing this scene, Xu Guangjin knew that the counterattack opportunity he had been waiting for for a long time had finally come. He became very excited and raised his arms and shouted.
"Soldiers, the enemy's hot air balloon has descended."
"Order the entire army to counterattack on all fronts and kill the enemy!"
Amid the shouts, Xu Guangjin commanded the Qing army to launch a counterattack.
Even his own reserve troops were sent out by Xu Guangjin to supervise the battle, leading the militia and Green Camp soldiers to charge forward.
Now Xu Guangjin no longer dared to hope to defeat the Restoration Army and then lead his troops to evacuate safely from the city of Wuzhou.
Now, Xu Guangjin only wanted to drive the Restoration Army out of his own camp in order to temporarily regain a position on the battlefield.
The fight between the two sides began to become more and more intense!
……
At the same time, Li Yi put down the telescope in his hand and spoke.
"The Qing army's reserve troops have also been mobilized. Let's send out our guard regiment!"
The battlefield had reached the decisive moment, and Li Yi sent out his trump card without hesitation.
As soon as Li Yi finished speaking, Li Kang on the side immediately clasped his fists and said.
"I will obey your orders!"
After saying this, he turned his horse around and went to his own army, and spoke to the soldiers of the guard regiment in front of him.
"Soldiers, it's time for the Grand Commander and the Military Government to test us."
"As the Grand Commander's Guard, we use the best equipment, receive the highest pay, and enjoy the best treatment."
"Now, the battle of Wuzhou has reached a decisive moment, and the military government has reached a critical juncture of life and death. It is time for us to stand up and fight for the Grand Commander and the Restoration Army."
As soon as Li Kang finished speaking, everyone in the guard regiment shouted in unison.
"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"
"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"
Amid the cheers, Li Kang raised his arms and shouted again.
"Soldiers, follow me and attack!"
"Unless we defeat the enemy, we will never turn back!"
"..."
With a loud shout, Li Kang, the head of the guard regiment, holding a breech-loading rifle, led the charge towards the battlefield.
On the battlefield, the situation changed rapidly, and the Restoration Army's guard regiment shot straight into the flank of the Qing army's camp like a sharp arrow.
They used breech-loading rifles, like a heavy punch that had been accumulating power for a long time, and hit the enemy's waist and abdomen hard.
Amid the explosion, the wall of the Qing army's flank camp was destroyed.
The Restoration Army's guard regiment broke into the Qing army camp through the gap created by the bomb.
The next moment, dense gunfire echoed throughout the battlefield.
The Qing soldiers who took the initiative to block the attack were shot to pieces as soon as they met.
Snapped!clap clap!clap clap clap!
The Restoration Army Guard Regiment, which used breech-loading rifles, relied on the firepower advantage of their breech-loading rifles and charged into the Qing army camp like a tiger among a flock of sheep.
Drive straight to the center of the Qing army!
Those Qing troops that came up to block the attack were almost defeated by their superior firepower at the first encounter.
Then, countless Qing troops began to flee everywhere, and brought more Qing troops down with them.
The Qing army's already weak flank defense line was like paper and was easily torn apart by the Restoration Army's guard regiment.
……
By the time Xu Guangjin realized that his flank had been attacked, the Restoration Army's guard regiment had almost reached him.
"The bandit soldier...how come the bandit soldier's gun shoots so fast?!"
Xu Guangjin looked at the situation on the battlefield with an expression of disbelief on his face.
Upon hearing this, the generals standing by were all speechless.
Obviously, they were also stunned by the firepower advantage demonstrated by the Restoration Army Guard Regiment.
Before the Restoration Army's guard regiment took the field, the gap between the Restoration Army and the Qing Army was only in morale and organization.
As for weapons, except for the obvious advantage in artillery, the Restoration Army was actually not much different from the Qing Army in other aspects.
They are all the same muskets, swords and spears!
Therefore, the Qing army was able to rely on its military advantage to barely withstand the offensive of the Restoration Army.
However, everything changed when the Restoration Army's guard regiment came on the scene.
The Qing army was instantly stunned by the Restoration Army's breech-loading rifles!
The reason is simple: it's too fast. The firing rate of the Restoration Army's breech-loading rifles is really too fast.
The Qing army was simply unable to resist that kind of fire suppression and that kind of continuous fire.
It's almost like being crushed unilaterally!
"Quick! Block them!"
"Everyone, go ahead and stop them!"
Xu Guangjin gritted his teeth and dispatched troops to block the assault of the Restoration Army's Guard Regiment, but he was unable to do so.
Troops were dispatched one after another, and were defeated in the blink of an eye. Apart from paying a huge price in casualties, the Qing army was unable to achieve any actual results.
At the same time, while their own guard regiment raided the Qing army's flank, disrupting the Qing army's deployment.
The main force of the Restoration Army also pressed forward on the front battlefield and launched an all-out attack.
Even Li Yi himself was riding his horse forward, and the big flag representing his identity was also slowly moving forward!
"Kill! Kill the Qing monster!"
"Drive out the Tartars and restore China!"
"Ten thousand victories! Ten thousand victories! Ten thousand victories for the Restoration Army! Ten thousand victories for the Grand Commander!"
"..."
Under the double-sided attack from the Restoration Army, the Qing army began to retreat.
Seeing that things were hopeless, Xu Guangjin almost cried.
The battle had reached this point, and the defeat of the Qing army was inevitable. Xu Guangjin had no idea how he would explain to the court after the defeat in Wuzhou.
In desperation, Xu Guangjin was forced to retreat by his personal guards.
Even though the battle was lost, life still had to go on.
Xu Guangjin could only choose to flee as the best strategy among the Thirty-Six Strategies, and comfort himself with the idea that as long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.
As Governor Xu Guangjin also began to flee, the Qing army line, which had been barely holding on, began to collapse across the board.
With no one to supervise the battle behind them, countless Qing troops and militiamen dropped their weapons and fled.
The huge battlefield was filled with defeated Qing troops.
Seeing this, Li Yi also stopped his horse and stopped moving forward.
Because he knew that the outcome of the battle of Wuzhou had been decided!
……
On the surface of the Xijiang River, Fang Haiyang stood at the bow of a sampan and shouted to the soldiers in front of him.
"Soldiers, in yesterday's battle on the Gui River, our Restoration Army navy was badly defeated and our brothers suffered heavy losses."
"This is a great shame and humiliation for us!"
"This morning, the Grand Commander summoned me to meet him and gave me a batch of secret weapons, asking us to use them to avenge the Qing demons and wipe out yesterday's shame." "Brothers, are you willing to go with me?"
Upon hearing this, everyone shouted in unison.
"Revenge! Revenge!"
"Revenge! Revenge!"
"..."
Amid the shouts, Fang Haiyang waved his hand and led his men down the Xijiang River with boats loaded with rockets, heading straight for the Qing army's water stronghold downstream.
Since they were going downstream, Fang Haiyang and his companions were moving very fast. It didn't take long for them to reach the outside of the Qing army's water fort.
However, just when Fang Haiyang ordered his men to set up the rocket launcher and prepare to ignite it for launch.
But he was suddenly surprised to find that there seemed to be no one in the Qing army's water fort?
Fang Haiyang immediately stopped everyone from preparing to light the fire and spoke.
"Quick! Send someone up to check."
As soon as he finished speaking, a sampan broke away from the team, rowed forward, and smoothly entered the Qing army's water stronghold.
Not long after, he came back and reported to Fang Haiyang.
"Commander, the Qingyao Water Village is now empty. Only a few sentries are still on duty. The rest are nowhere to be found."
When Fang Haiyang heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he spoke.
"Haha, God help me too!"
"At this moment, there are only boats but no people in the Qingyao Water Village. Aren't the warships in the water village at our disposal?"
"Brothers, follow me! Kill!"
"As long as we capture the water fort, our Restoration Army's navy will have large ships to use in the future!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's morale was boosted and they responded in unison.
"We obey!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people, led by Fang Haiyang, charged into the Qing army's water stronghold with great momentum.
Although the Qing army's sentries in the water fort discovered them, it was useless.
Because there are no soldiers in the Qing army’s water fort at all.
Even though the sentries in the Qing army's water fort had already discovered the invading Restoration Army navy, the remaining sentries could only watch as the Restoration Army navy broke into the water fort and seized their ships.
Then, make them captives!
Fang Haiyang drew the sword from his waist, put it against the chest of a Qing army prisoner, and shouted.
"Tell me quickly, where have all the Qing monsters in the water village gone?!"
"If you don't tell me, I will skin you alive with my own sword!"
The Qing army prisoner said this while trembling with fear as a steel knife was pressed against his chest.
"I said, I said!"
"Don't kill me, good man!"
"The sailors in the water fort were dispatched by the Governor-General to reinforce the battle on the shore an hour ago. Only we are left in the water fort."
When Fang Haiyang heard this, he suddenly realized something and a strange expression appeared on his face.
They all said that their commander-in-chief had a destiny and incredible luck, but now he finally had some personal experience of it.
This guy is more than just destined to be with God. He is clearly God's own son!
Just yesterday, his commander-in-chief said at the meeting that he wanted to find a way to get a batch of "strong ships and powerful guns". As a result, today he took advantage of the opportunity and seized the warships in the Qing army's water fort.
Well, this is really bad luck!
Now Fang Haiyang sincerely feels that he made the right decision to lead his men to join Li Yi.
Following such a master who has a destiny in his heart to conquer the world, when the new dynasty is established in the future and the meritorious service is rewarded, as a meritorious follower of the dragon, perhaps I can earn the title of duke or marquis for my descendants!
……
Xu Guangjin took off his conspicuous cotton armor and changed into an ordinary Green Camp soldier's uniform. He ran away with the help of several personal soldiers.
Beside him, Chen Guotai, commander of Xiangshan Association, spoke.
"General, please follow me. As long as we can return to the water fort and board the ship, we won't have to worry about the bandits chasing us."
"Although the bandits are strong in land warfare, they are far inferior to our Qing Dynasty in terms of navy."
"As long as we return to the water fort, I will be able to withdraw from the battlefield safely!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Guangjin nodded and skillfully made plans.
"Good! Good!"
"As long as you can escort me safely out of the battlefield this time, I will ask the court for your credit."
Chen Guotai heard this with a somewhat excited look on his face.
"Thank you, Governor!"
Chen Guotai is really excited now, even though the Qing Dynasty lost badly in the Battle of Wuzhou.
But it’s not like I haven’t won before!
For example, in the Battle of Guijiang River, Chen Guotai led his army to a great victory over the enemy's navy.
Although the results were not much.
However, amidst a series of defeats, his only victory seems precious.
If Xu Guangjin wanted to receive less punishment after the war, he had to make more of this only victory.
At that time, as long as this victory is reported, Chen Guotai will at least be promoted to a higher level.
With excitement, Chen Guotai escorted Xu Guangjin to the water fort on the bank of the West River.
The group of people entered the water fort very smoothly. Seeing that no one came to greet them, Chen Guotai didn't care.
"No one came to greet them. Perhaps the sentries left in the water fort saw the army's defeat and fled for their lives."
"But don't worry, sir. Even without those sentries, I have people who can operate a ship. I promise that as long as you board the ship, I will take you out of the battlefield."
As Chen Guotai prepared to board the gangway, he explained to Xu Guangjin behind him.
Xu Guangjin had no doubts either, because the Qing Dynasty's defeat in the Battle of Wuzhou was already a fact, and it was normal for everyone to flee when disaster struck.
Although he felt a little nervous for some reason, after listening to Chen Guotai's comfort, he still followed Chen Guotai to board the ship.
Wu Quanmei on the side also came forward and said in a flattering manner.
"Please go ahead, sir. I will hold the gangway for you."
Seeing this, Xu Guangjin no longer hesitated and climbed up the gangway onto the warship.
As soon as Chen Guotai stepped onto the deck, he turned to face the ship below and spoke.
"My Lord, I'll help you from above!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Guangjin extended his hand to Chen Guotai, and was then pulled onto the deck by Chen Guotai.
But as soon as he got on board, his expression changed.
A group of bandits with red scarves on their heads rushed out of the cabin behind Chen Guotai and rushed towards them aggressively.
Before Chen Guotai could react, he was kicked down from behind, and then a group of big men rushed forward and pressed him to the ground.
Xu Guangjin didn't have time to react before someone put a steel knife to his neck.
Wu Quanmei, who was behind, was horrified when she saw this.
"Who are you?"
"Let go of the Governor!"
Xu Guangjin: 6...
Wu Quanmei and Chen Guotai are a truly talented pair.
One led him into a trap, and the other helped him reveal his identity.
Damn it, what sin did Xu Guangjin commit in his previous life that he had to meet these two talented guys in this life!
(End of this chapter)