Chapter 108 Hou Yunjie: Oh no, I’m the one taking the scapegoat!
In the chaos, the fighting was extremely brutal.
At the beginning, the Restoration Army was able to gain some advantages by relying on its bravery, but as the Qing army's reinforcements continued to arrive, they used their superior forces to surround and kill them.
The Restoration Army that left the city began to fall into a disadvantage.
The casualties in each unit are constantly rising.
"Brothers, kill, kill the Qing monsters!"
Wang Zhiyong shouted at the top of his lungs, trying to boost the morale of the army, but he was unable to reverse the increasingly deteriorating battle situation.
Surrounded by the Qing army's superior forces, although the Restoration Army fought bravely, they still fell into a disadvantage.
"Kill!"
Wang Zhiyong swung his knife and blocked the long knife that was coming towards his head.
But before he could defend himself, another long knife came quickly and slashed at his waist and abdomen.
Although he was wearing armor and the knife did not break his defense, the cotton armor could at most block the blade but could not relieve the force. Wang Zhiyong could not help but let out a muffled groan.
"Protect the leader!"
When the guards around him saw this, they shouted loudly, killed the Qing monsters around him, and surrounded Wang Zhiyong in the middle of the crowd to protect him.
But in the process, several guards around Wang Zhiyong were killed.
The battle situation is becoming increasingly tense.
There were corpses lying on the ground all around, and the battle was extremely brutal.
There were already corpses lying around the feet of Wang Zhiyong and others, and they were forced to fight fiercely.
But even so, the Qing army's attack was still continuous like a wave.
Even though the Restoration Army's defense was as solid as a rock, it would sooner or later be overwhelmed by the endless waves.
As time passed, the casualties of the Restoration Army continued to grow.
Gradually, the number of people around Wang Zhiyong decreased, and now there were less than a hundred people.
Moreover, with such a small number of people, everyone was injured and almost in a desperate situation.
Wang Zhiyong had already fought to the point of exhaustion. The base of his hand holding the knife was already bloody, and his throat had already become hoarse from screaming.
There were several small holes on his cotton armor caused by shotgun fire, and blood was gushing out continuously.
Wang Zhiyong felt that his breathing was becoming increasingly difficult, the sounds in his ears were becoming increasingly blurred, and the world before his eyes was gradually losing its color...
Wang Zhiyong used all his strength to block the spear that was aimed at his head, but was stabbed in the shoulder by the spear.
The force from the spear pushed him back several steps.
However, he could no longer feel the pain due to excessive blood loss.
He grasped the gun barrel with his bloody hands and tried to pull it out, but he could only feel that all the strength in his body was rapidly flowing away.
"Captain..."
"Brothers, rescue the leader!"
"Hold it!"
"..."
In the chaos, Wang Zhiyong was snatched away.
He used all his strength, turned his head and looked towards the east, towards the direction of Wuzhou.
Hasn’t the battle in Wuzhou been won yet?
When will father bring troops to help?
He really couldn't hold on any longer...
Just before Wang Zhiyong was about to lose consciousness, a bright red appeared in his vision.
The flag of the Restoration Army fluttered in the wind, like a blood-stained flag expanding.
Under the big flag, there was a cloud of smoke and dust.
The reinforcements of the Restoration Army were advancing westward along the river, heading straight for the battlefield west of Pingnan City...
When Wang Zhiyong saw this scene, a gleam of brilliance suddenly broke out in his dark eyes, and he shouted at the top of his voice.
"Reinforcements!"
"Reinforcements have arrived, brothers, hold on..."
As soon as Wang Zhiyong said this, the morale of the Restoration Army, which was already at the end of its rope, was instantly boosted.
"Kill!"
"Kill the clear demon!"
"Hold on, brothers! Reinforcements are coming!"
"..."
They even began to counterattack the Qing army.
But at this moment, there was a loud bang, and a cloud of smoke spewed out from the muzzle of a gun in the Qing army's formation.
The next moment, Wang Zhiyong's chest suddenly caved in and a ball of blood burst out.
His eyes suddenly widened, and then gradually lost their spirit...
His body collapsed weakly.
"Captain..."
"Damn it, brothers, let's fight the Tartars and avenge the captain!"
"Kill! Avenge the captain."
"..."
In an instant, Wang Zhiyong's guards began to fight desperately, charging towards the Qing army regardless of their lives.
The military law of the Restoration Army has always been strict, and the mission of these guards on the battlefield is to protect the commander.
Now that the commander-in-chief has died in the battlefield, according to military law, all of these guards must be beheaded in public.
Even their families would be implicated and the military merit land previously distributed to their families by the Restoration Army would be confiscated.
Therefore, if these guards do not want their families to be implicated, the only choice left for them is to die on the battlefield and follow their commander.
……
Wang An rode his horse forward and saw that he was getting closer and closer to the battlefield. For some reason, he suddenly felt a palpitation.
I had a bad feeling in my heart.
Wang An covered his chest with one hand and raised the telescope with the other hand to observe the battlefield in the distance.
Seeing that the Restoration Army on the battlefield was about to be wiped out, Wang An did not hesitate and gave the order immediately.
"Pass the order down, the entire army will charge and defeat the enemy!"
Wang An's military order was issued and flags fluttered on the battlefield.
The Second Infantry Brigade of the Restoration Army, under his command, launched an assault forward.
"kill!"
"Kill the clear demon!"
"Drive out the Tartars, restore China, and win! Win!"
"..."
……
Qin Huaiyuan saw that his side was about to wipe out all the bandits in Pingnan on the battlefield and then recapture Pingnan.
But the bandits' reinforcements suddenly rushed into the battlefield!
Coming towards the battlefield with great momentum.
Seeing this, Qin Huaiyuan slapped the saddle in annoyance.
"The enemy's reinforcements have arrived, and the battle in Pingnan has failed..."
Xunzhou prefect Hou Yunjie, who was standing by, saw this and asked.
"General Qin, since the battle in Pingnan is not viable, how about we retreat to Xunzhou first?"
Hou Yunjie has now vaguely sensed that something is wrong.
Damn, I have just taken over as the prefect of Xunzhou, but it seems that the situation in Xunzhou is about to deteriorate again.
Am I going to have to take the blame this time?
Originally, he was whispering that Cai Bingwen was unlucky, but now it seems that it is hard to say who is the unlucky one.
But then again, what is the current situation in Wuzhou?
Didn’t it say that the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Xu Guangjin, would lead Guangdong troops into Guangxi to suppress the bandits?
How could the bandits have enough energy to reinforce the battle in Pingnan?
Hou Yunjie was puzzled.
Sun He also advised from the side.
"Yes, General, the enemy's reinforcements are coming. The battle in Pingnan cannot be continued. Withdraw the troops!"
Qin Huaiyuan heard this and said after thinking for a while.
"it is good!"
"Order the entire army to withdraw!"
Qin Huaiyuan made a decision quickly. Since he knew that the thing could not be done, Qin Huaiyuan was not the kind of person who would force it.
Let's retreat to Xunzhou! Anyway, the merit of retaking Xunzhou from the bandits should be enough for him to be promoted.
……
Suddenly, a shrill sound of a gong was heard on the battlefield.
After receiving the order, the various Qing troops began to retreat.
However, the remnants of the Restoration Army on the battlefield were already blood-thirsty, and if the Qing army wanted to withdraw, it had to ask them whether they agreed or not.
"Kill!"
"The Qing demons are trying to escape, don't let them get away!"
"He killed so many of our brothers and fellow villagers. Now that reinforcements from my Restoration Army have arrived, it's too late for Qing to escape..."
The remnants of the Restoration Army rushed forward and fought desperately, trying to tie up the Qing army.
As expected, under their entanglement, the Qing army's retreat speed slowed down significantly.
And there is a trend of retreat turning into rout!
At this moment, reinforcements of the Restoration Army also rushed into the battlefield and attacked the retreating Qing army.
When the Qing army saw this, they knew that the reinforcements from the Restoration Army had arrived and they completely collapsed.
Countless people made their choice, dropped their weapons, and ran all over the mountains.
Upon seeing this, the reinforcements of the Restoration Army did not hesitate and immediately launched a pursuit with high morale.
The rumbling sound of horse hooves rang out, and a cavalry company of the Restoration Army appeared on the battlefield.
They roared and charged towards the fleeing Qing army.
They were like a scimitar, drawing a graceful arc on the battlefield and encircling the Qing army that wanted to retreat.
While passing through the Qing army's formation, it caused huge casualties to the Qing army.
"kill!"
"Kill the demons and divide the land!"
"..."
Although the cavalry company of the Restoration Army had only a hundred people, the momentum of their charge was quite terrifying. As the cavalry roared, the Qing army retreated like an avalanche.
When Qin Huaiyuan saw this, a look of panic appeared on his face.
He had not expected that the bandits had cavalry.
If this is the case, it will not be easy for me to withdraw from the battlefield safely.
The situation on the battlefield changed rapidly, and the Qing army went from a great victory to a great defeat in a blink of an eye.
Under the pursuit of the Restoration Army, the Qing army began to surrender in large numbers.
Qin Huaiyuan saw this and knew that the situation was hopeless, so he prepared to break out with his own personal soldiers and light cavalry.
But just as he started to gallop, the horse under him suddenly stepped on the body of a Pingnan civilian who had been left behind by the Qing army when they were driving the people to fill the trenches. The horse stumbled and fell, and he was thrown off the horse.
After a dizzying moment, Qin Huaiyuan fell heavily to the ground, and then his eyes went dark and he lost consciousness.
……
Wang An rode his horse to the battlefield and met his son.
However, at this time, Wang Zhiyong had turned into a corpse.
The air pressure around here is frighteningly low!
Looking at the bloody corpse in front of him, Wang An seemed to have all his strength drained away at that moment.
If his younger brother Wang Tiesheng hadn't supported him, Wang An would have almost fallen to the ground.
He opened his mouth, pointed at the corpse in front of him, and wanted to say something, but no sound came out of his throat.
He didn't know when tears were streaming down his face.
"Brother, Zhiyong has gone, but you have to cheer up, the battle is not over yet."
"Zhiyong's death cannot be in vain!"
Wang Tiesheng began to persuade.
Wang An didn't respond to him, but just said through gritted teeth.
"Kill! Kill them all!"
"In this battle, all the Qing troops who participated were killed."
"I want them to be buried with Yong'er... Yong'er!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Tiesheng spoke out loudly.
"Didn't you hear that?"
"Order the entire army to kill the demons!"
"In this battle, take no prisoners!"
Upon hearing this, the soldiers around responded in unison.
"kill!"
"kill!"
"kill!"
"..."
In an instant, a murderous atmosphere filled the entire battlefield.
Wang An took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and spoke to his brother.
"My mind is really confused right now."
"Let Tiesheng take charge of the war for now."
Upon hearing this, Wang Tiesheng nodded vigorously.
"Don't worry, brother. Leave it to me."
Wang An nodded, walked up to his son and picked him up.
Next, he wanted to be alone with his son for a while.
……
Qin Huaiyuan fell off his horse and fainted. After losing their commander, the Qing army on the battlefield completely lost hope of turning the tables.
They were beaten wantonly by the Restoration Army on the battlefield!
After a devastating attack, except for a small number of remnants who managed to escape the battlefield, the rest of the Qing army either surrendered or died. The battle in Pingnan was finally declared over.
That night, Wang Tiesheng found Wang An, who was still immersed in the grief of losing his son. He first lit three incense sticks for his nephew, and then reported the detailed battle report to Wang An.
"Commander, the general battle report of our army in the Pingnan Campaign has been compiled."
"In this battle, our army wiped out a total of 7,000 Qing troops, including 4,000 Qing troops and more than 3,000 militia organized by gentry and landlords."
"Among our prisoners of war, there are Qing Yao Si'en General Qin Huaiyuan, Xunzhou Prefect Hou Yunjie, and Xunzhou Gentry Sun He, etc. The main figures of the Qing army in the Pingnan Battle did not escape."
"Only a small number of Qing army defeated soldiers fled the battlefield during the chaos."
Wang An, who had a wooden face originally, showed a look of relief upon hearing this and murmured.
"Slow down, Yong'er. Your father, your father will send these dogs to accompany you underground..."
Seeing this, Wang Tiesheng continued.
"And our army's casualties in this battle were also quite heavy."
"Almost all of the more than 600 defenders in Pingnan County were killed. Only 35 survived. The 40 men in my nephew's guard platoon were all killed in the battle."
"The number of casualties among the people in Pingnan County who spontaneously organized themselves to help our army defend the city was close to one thousand."
"In addition, the casualties caused by the Qing army's looting in Pingnan County were also quite tragic."
In fact, the garrison that Wang An left behind in the direction of Xunzhou was originally a regiment with a full strength of 1,500 people.
However, as Xunzhou fell due to the cooperation between the Qing army and Xunzhou gentry, Wang Zhiyong's troops suffered heavy losses.
When they retreated to Pingnan, less than half of their troops were left.
In addition, during this period of time, the city was defended and the Qing army suffered several fierce battles, resulting in heavy losses.
Therefore, before the Battle of Pingnan broke out, there were only 600 people left.
But after the Battle of Pingnan, these six hundred people were killed!
Wang An heard this and spoke.
"Well done, all well done."
"They didn't lose face for our Restoration Army, nor did they lose face for Yong'er."
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Wang An asked.
"By the way, Yong'er and his men were defending the city so well, why did they go out of the city to fight with the Qing monsters?"
Wang An could never figure this out.
Wang Tiesheng said with a livid face when he heard this.
"According to the few soldiers who survived, after the Qing demons attacked Pingnan several times without success, they captured many Pingnan civilians and planned to drive them to fill the trenches."
"Zhiyong and his men were forced into a corner by Qing Yao's actions, so they chose to leave the city and fight Qing Yao in the wild..."
(End of this chapter)