Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 101 Xu Guangjin: Let me be the scapegoat?

Since this thing is a product that already exists in this era, the price is not very expensive.

A rocket with a charge of 6 pounds costs 5 taels of silver each.

A rocket with a charge of 12 pounds costs 7 taels of silver each.

A rocket with a charge of 24 pounds costs 10 taels of silver each.

A rocket with a charge of 32 pounds costs 15 taels of silver each.

Li Yi took stock of the remaining spending limit of his golden finger this month.

After deducting the cost of purchasing various machines and equipment, as well as the corresponding parts and tools, Li Yi's mall spending quota this month is still three thousand taels.

After a simple calculation, Li Yi bought 6 12-pound rockets, 24 32-pound rockets, 2500 -pound rockets, and -pound rockets in one go, spending a total of taels of silver.

Li Yi had no intention of using the remaining 500 taels and still planned to keep it for emergency use.

As for self-made things?

There’s no rush. It won’t be too late to talk about it after this battle is over!
Besides, the Restoration Army will have a decisive battle with the Qing Army tomorrow. Even if Li Yi wants to make it himself, it will be too late.

After doing all this, Li Yi, feeling relieved, put out his cigarette, lay down on the bed, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

……

Inside the Qing army camp!
In Xu Guangjin's big tent, there was a dim lamp.

It was late at night, but Xu Guangjin had not yet gone to bed.

He was writing an official document at his desk, preparing to mobilize troops from Guangdong to reinforce the war in Guangxi.

In yesterday's battle, the Qing army was defeated so miserably!

The army of more than 10,000 led by Zhou Junlu was defeated by the bandits with inferior forces in less than half a day. Such an outcome is truly regrettable.

Although the navy led by Chen Guotai won a victory in the battle against the enemy navy, it was of no benefit to the overall situation.

Guangxi is located inland, and the victory or defeat of naval battles in this place is just a bonus to a war, and at most it serves as icing on the cake.

To truly determine the winner, we still have to look at the fighting on land.

But in this regard, the Qing Dynasty was at an absolute disadvantage.

In order to change all this, Xu Guangjin had no choice but to write to Guangdong again, asking Guangdong to send reinforcements and transport heavy artillery to Guangxi to reinforce the battle.

After writing the official document, Xu Guangjin ordered his personal attendant to bring his governor's seal to stamp it.

Afterwards, he put the official documents into an envelope and prepared to send someone to Guangzhou as soon as possible.

At this moment, footsteps were suddenly heard outside the big tent.

Then came the voice of a messenger.

"Report! Your Excellency the Governor, urgent news from Guangzhou!"

When Xu Guangjin heard this, he immediately had a bad feeling.

Urgent news from Guangzhou?

what is the problem?

Did the secret societies in Guangdong follow the example of their counterparts in Guangxi and also rise up in rebellion?
Or did the British take advantage of the fact that the main force of the Qing army in Guangdong was not in Guangzhou to cause trouble again? !

Xu Guangjin felt that the latter possibility was a little bit greater.

After all, the British have a real bad record in this regard.

Since he took over as Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, the British have been making a lot of trouble in recent years.

"Come in!"

Xu Guangjin looked up and greeted him.

Soon, a messenger opened the curtain and walked in.

"Tell me quickly, what happened in Guangzhou?"

Xu Guangjin asked, his face calm and he looked quite majestic.

The messenger was intimidated by his governor's aura and spoke with some fear.

"To reply to the Governor, I don't know the specific content."

"I only know that this military report was sent from the capital, and after it was transferred to Guangzhou, it was delivered to the front line."

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangjin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

This is an urgent report from the capital. If that's the case, Guangzhou should be fine.

Xu Guangjin's complexion improved slightly, and then he spoke.

"Send it over!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the messenger delivered the urgent report from Guangzhou to Xu Guangjin.

Xu Guangjin took the urgent report and began to read it.

Then, the expression on his face froze.

Because, in this urgent letter, there are two pieces of news, one is bad news, and the other is even worse news.

The bad news is that Changsha is lost.

At the end of May in the first year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign, the Taiping rebels withdrew from the siege of Guilin and moved into Hunan.

It passed through Xing'an, Quanzhou, Yongzhou, Daozhou, and then went through Guiyang, Chenzhou, Hengyang, and headed straight to the provincial capital Changsha.

By the end of June, the vanguard of the Taiping rebels, led by their pseudo-Western King Xiao Chaogui, arrived at the city of Changsha and launched a surprise attack on the city.

However, since the Changsha defenders had taken precautions in advance, the Taiping bandits' surprise attack was ineffective.

But after the main force of the Taiping Army arrived in Changsha, Changsha finally fell into the hands of the Taiping bandits in early July.

It is worth mentioning that in the original history, Xiao Chaogui, the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, died in battle under the city of Changsha.

And the Taiping Army ultimately failed to capture Changsha.

But this time, due to the butterfly effect caused by the time traveler Li Yi, not only did Xiao Chaogui survive, but the Taiping Army also successfully captured the city of Changsha.

This means that the current situation faced by the Qing court will be even more critical and severe than the situation it faced when the Taiping Army invaded Hunan in history.

The worse news is that after learning the bad news of the fall of Changsha, the emperor ordered the dismissal of Cézanne from his post as imperial commissioner.

He also ordered Xu Guangjin to succeed the post of imperial commissioner in charge of the suppression of the rebellion, and immediately lead his troops north to Hunan to recapture Changsha.

The imperial edict appointing him as the imperial envoy was already on the way. This military report was to notify Xu Guangjin in advance so that he could prepare to lead his troops north to Hunan.

To ensure that as soon as the imperial edict arrived, Xu Guangjin could lead his troops north to Hunan.

After reading the urgent report, Xu Guangjin was stunned where he stood.

Damn it, this is asking him to take over from Césanne and be the savior!
Changsha has fallen, and now the situation in Hunan is clearly on the verge of collapse.

When asked to take over the Hunan war situation at this time, Xu Guangjin said that he really couldn't do it.

Also, if he wanted to lead his troops to take over the battle in Hunan, the first thing he had to do was to withdraw his troops from the city of Wuzhou.

But the current Wuzhou City, how could he withdraw just because he wanted to?
If he withdraws his troops rashly, the bandits in Wuzhou will surely leave the city and pursue him.

By then, I'm afraid a great defeat will be just around the corner...

Looking at the urgent report sent from Guangzhou in his hand, Xu Guangjin looked a little depressed.

A complete feeling of powerlessness filled his heart.

The whole world is in turmoil and the situation is disturbing. He wants to save the country, but he is powerless to change the situation!

However, no matter how helpless he was, Xu Guangjin did not have the courage to disobey the order.

All he could do now was to find a way to evacuate from Wuzhou City at the lowest cost.

……

Soon, the sun rose and the moon set, and a hint of paleness appeared on the horizon.

Li Yi got up early, took out the rocket he had exchanged from the mall last night, and handed it to Fang Haiyang.

And let him get familiar with how to use it first, so that he won't be in the battlefield without a weapon. As for the origin of the rocket, how to explain it?

Let’s put it this way, Li Yi is too lazy to pretend now.

It was no secret in the Restoration Army that Li Yi had a destiny. In order to maintain this persona, Li Yi would often act mysteriously and perform miracles in the army.

This is why Fang Haiyang, a naval commander who came from a pirate background, is so loyal to Li Yi.

You know, in yesterday's battle of Guijiang River, all those who died were his brothers, but he refused to withdraw unless Li Yi ordered it.

If he had not witnessed Li Yi's miracles and knew that Li Yi had a destiny, how could he have done this?
Do you really think Fang Haiyang, a long-time pirate, is a good guy?

Afterwards, Li Yi led the team to inspect the military camp, boost the morale of the army, and check the combat readiness of each unit.

Li Yi took a quick look around and found that the morale of the army was unexpectedly good.

When talking about leaving the city for a decisive battle with the Qing army today, everyone was not afraid or worried, but instead looked very excited.

Li Yi was also quite satisfied with this.

By around the hour of Mao, the Restoration Army had made all preparations to fight outside the city.

Accompanied by the sound of horns and drums, the east gate of Wuzhou was slowly opened.

The various units of the Restoration Army marched out of the city one after another, lined up outside Wuzhou City, and advanced towards the Qing army's camp.

……

Xu Guangjin stayed up the whole night last night and couldn't fall asleep. It was not until dawn that he lay down and took a short nap.

However, while eating breakfast, he summoned all the generals to discuss the withdrawal of troops.

Suddenly, a low horn sounded from the direction of Wuzhou City.

When he heard the horn, the expression on Xu Guangjin's face froze, and a bun in his mouth fell onto the table with a plop.

He subconsciously turned his head to look outside, and soon saw a messenger running over and speaking.

"Governor, report to the Governor, the bandits, the bandits have left the city and are attacking us..."

When Xu Guangjin heard this, he was stunned.

Sweat appeared on my forehead unconsciously.

Damn, it’s over!
It was not easy for him to withdraw his troops from the city of Wuzhou. It required careful planning to have a chance of success.

Moreover, this is based on the premise that the bandits do not make any major moves.

But now?

The bandits took the initiative to leave the city and charge towards the Qing army camp.

Under such circumstances, it would be absolutely impossible for Xu Guangjin to withdraw his troops.

Otherwise, as soon as he retreated, the enemy soldiers would chase him and he would be defeated in the blink of an eye.

And this is something that Xu Guangjin absolutely cannot accept!
Taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down, Xu Guangjin began to speak.

"Quick! Send a message to the entire army immediately!"

"Prepare for war!"

"Prepare for war now!"

"Since the enemy soldiers are the ones who are attacking us, we, the officers and soldiers, will make sure they never return."

Since the Restoration Army took the initiative to attack, Xu Guangjin now has only one choice, and that is to fight back.

Because now, the only way for him to withdraw safely is to defeat the invading bandits.

If it weren't for the imperial court's order, Xu Guangjin would have withdrawn his troops from Wuzhou City as soon as possible and prepared to march north to Hunan.

When facing the active attack of the Restoration Army, Xu Guangjin's most likely choice was to defend the camp and wait for reinforcements.

But, it’s no longer possible now!

The imperial court's order for him to withdraw his troops has arrived. Unless Xu Guangjin wants to disobey the order, he has no choice but to fight.

Xu Guangjin now, like Cézanne before him, also understands the helplessness of the brothers Geshu Han and Sun Chuanting.

The micromanagement in the court is really fucking deceptive!

……

The sun is high in the sky.

The scorching sun was spread over the earth, and waves of heat surged.

Although it is autumn now, it is the time when the autumn heat is the most severe. In addition, Guangxi is located in the south, so the temperature is still very high.

If a person moves a little, he will be covered in sweat.

"March!"

Li Yi rode on horseback and waved his hand to give orders.

Soon, the sound of war drums rang out, and the various units of the Restoration Army formed up in battle formation and advanced steadily forward.

Nearly 20,000 people raised their legs and marched in unison; the sounds of their footsteps combined together sounded like a landslide.

Flags were flying high on the battlefield, with the huge words "Liberation" on them standing out.

Five-jin field guns and ten-jin heavy guns were also pushed to the front of the formation, ready to deliver firepower.

In the sky, a hot air balloon was flying high above the formation of the Restoration Army, observing the entire battlefield from a God's perspective.

In addition, there were two long banners hanging under the hot air balloon, each with a row of large characters written on it.

One is [expel the Tartars, restore China; restore the mountains and rivers, and equalize land rights! ]

Another one is [Cut off the slave braids, restore our clothes; sweep away the barbarian dust, and bring peace to the world! ]

Obviously, this was a trick done by Li Yi.

As a game fan, he knows how important it is to open the entire map for a game.

And what's the difference between hanging a hot air balloon above your head to observe the battlefield and opening the entire map?
In addition, a hot air balloon was not expensive in the mall, so Li Yi spent money to buy one.

Then he ordered people to try to familiarize themselves with its use.

This is the first time that this hot air balloon appears on the battlefield. Li Yi hopes that it can play its due role.

As for the banner?
That is a morale boost to one's own side.

……

Xu Guangjin was riding on a horse, looking at the array of bandits in the distance. Suddenly, his pupils contracted.

"What is that thing floating in the sky?"

“Flying through the air, is this the cry of a ghost or god?!”

Although the French invented the hot air balloon as early as the end of the last century.

But due to the Qing Dynasty's policy of isolation, more than half a century has passed, and hot air balloons are still a magical thing in the East.

Looking at the hot air balloon floating above the enemy's formation, even with Xu Guangjin's great skills in cultivating his Qi, he couldn't help but want to harm others, let alone those illiterate soldiers in the Qing army.

After seeing a big ball floating in the sky above the Restoration Army, countless people were stunned in fear. In the Qing army's formation, chaos was spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Oh my god! What the hell is that thing floating above the bandit's head?"

"What the hell, what the hell!"

"The bandits are not really blessed by gods, are they? Are those celestial soldiers and generals descended from heaven?"

"The bandits have the gods' blessing, can we still fight this war?"

"..."

In the chaos, some people even knelt on the ground, kowtowed towards the hot air balloon, and muttered to themselves.

"Please forgive me, Immortal. I beg you to forgive me. I will never dare to go against the Immortal again..."

The morale of the Qing army, which was already low due to yesterday's defeat, has now reached its lowest point.

(End of this chapter)