Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 91 God bless you? No, Li Yi bless you!
Li Yi looked around and then spoke.

"Leave the battle in the direction of Xunzhou to Wang An, and you will personally lead the Second Infantry Brigade of the Restoration Army to advance westward along the Xun River and capture the city of Xunzhou."

Upon hearing this, Wang An immediately stood up and clasped his fists to accept the order.

"I will obey your orders!"

After saying that, Li Yi turned to Zhao Xiang and said.

"The battle in the Xinyi direction will be handed over to Zhao Xiang. Zhao Xiang will lead the Third Infantry Brigade of our Restoration Army along the Longdi River to Xinyi to fight."

"During this trip, the Third Infantry Brigade should raise more flags and create a lot of momentum, so as to create the illusion that our main force is in Xinyi and attract more Qing troops to gather in Xinyi."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiang also stood up and clasped his fists.

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Li Yi turned his gaze to Li Sheng and spoke.

“The First Infantry Brigade will continue to assist in promoting land distribution in Teng County and continue to expand conscription while being ready for combat at any time.”

For the Restoration Army, expanding the army and distributing land actually complement each other.

Only after completing the land distribution work could they recruit enough soldiers as quickly as possible.

But now, Cenxi's war potential has been almost exhausted by the Restoration Army. If Li Yi wants to expand his army again, he can only attack Teng County.

This is also the reason why Li Yi wanted to keep the First Infantry Brigade, the most powerful unit of the Restoration Army, in Teng County.

You can't divide the land with your mouth alone.

If you want to share other people's land, you must be prepared to fight with them.

In the end, it all comes down to swords and guns.

After that, Li Yi continued.

"When the main force of the Qing army in Guangdong is attracted to Xinyi, we will join our first and second infantry brigades, first take Wuzhou, then go east along the West River out of Guangdong and drive straight to the city of Guangzhou."

Upon hearing this, Li Sheng clasped his fists and said.

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Li Yi nodded slightly and then said.

"Very good, in that case, let's all prepare to carry out the mission!"

Seeing this, everyone took their leave.

Li Yi then called Li Liang over and asked him.

"How is the development of the Military Intelligence Department going recently?"

Li Liang heard this and spoke.

"Don't worry, Grand Commander. With sufficient financial support, the Military Intelligence Department will expand very quickly."

"Now, our army has established connections with the secret society forces in Xunzhou, Wuzhou, Yulinzhou, Gaozhou, Luodingzhou, Zhaoqingfu and other places."

"And it is continuing to extend to Guangzhou, Huizhou and other places."

When living in Guangdong and Guangxi, you cannot avoid the influence of the Tiandihui secret society.

In order to expand its business as quickly as possible, the Military Intelligence Department of the Restoration Army decisively chose to cooperate with the Tiandihui.

To put it bluntly, it means spending money to buy intelligence!

As they were all anti-Qing forces, although the Tiandihui would not allow the Restoration Army to use their network for free, they would still provide some convenience.

Otherwise, do you think that intelligence is something you can buy whenever you want?

If no one introduces you, you won't be able to find a way even if you have money.

Li Yi heard this and nodded with satisfaction.

"Our army will soon deploy troops to various places. The Military Intelligence Department should work together and be prepared to support the army."

"If possible, while our army is marching eastward, we should instigate as many secret societies as possible to raise the flag against the Qing Dynasty and disrupt the situation."

"The more chaotic the situation is, the greater our chances will be!"

Upon hearing this, Li Liang nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, Grand Commander. I understand!"

"This shouldn't be a problem. The secret societies in Guangdong and Guangxi are quite dissatisfied with the Qing government. As long as our army can make a name for itself, someone will surely raise an army to support us."

Li Yi nodded with satisfaction after hearing this.

……

On the fifth day of June in the first year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign in the Qing Dynasty, a decisive battle between the Qing army and the Taiping army was about to break out outside the city of Guilin.

The two sides deployed their troops outside Guilin City, preparing for a decisive battle.

boom! Boom boom!

A few deafening artillery explosions opened the curtain of this battle.

Several artillery shells whizzed through the air and were fired from the Qing army towards the Taiping Army's positions.

The shell hit the ground, blasting up a large area of ​​sand and soil, filling the air with smoke and dust, and continued to bounce and roll forward.

It was a pity that the Qing army's gunners were not skilled in operating the cannon and had not calculated the amount of powder properly, so the shell rolled and stopped dozens of meters away from the Taiping army's formation.

When the Taiping Army saw this, they cheered in unison.

"Long live! Long live!"

"God bless me, I am invulnerable!"

"..."

Amid cheers, both sides continued to advance forward. When they were about a hundred meters apart, they stopped in tacit understanding and started shooting at each other with muskets.

"Everyone, get ready to shoot!"

"Fire, volley, fire!!"

The next moment, the sound of crackling gunfire resounded throughout the battlefield. Amid the smoke, people on both sides were hit by bullets and fell to the ground, covering their wounds and screaming.

At the same time, the Qing army's artillery was still delivering firepower.

After adjusting the cannon charge, the Qing army's gunners continued to aim at the Taiping Army's formation and then lit the fuse.

Amid the rumbling sound of artillery fire, one shell after another broke through the air and fell into the Taiping Army's formation.

The shells rolled and spun, instantly opening a bloody path in the Taiping Army's formation.

A dozen people in a row were turned into broken limbs in the blink of an eye.

The pungent smell of blood and the sour and rotten smell of internal organs filled the air, and the Taiping Army's originally strict formation was inevitably shaken.

At this time, Xiao Chaogui was ordered to attack the left wing of the Qing army.

This was used to distract the Qing army's troop deployment in order to gain opportunity for a breakthrough on the front battlefield.

The flag belonging to the Western King was waving, Xiao Chaogui shouted loudly, rushed to the front, and led the team to attack the left wing of the Qing army.

"Brothers, kill!"

"Follow me, as long as we charge forward, the Qing army's artillery will be useless."

"..."

When the Qing army saw this, they sent people to prepare for the battle and ordered several artillery pieces on the flanks to open fire to block the attack.

Césanne ordered his brave general Bachende to lead his troops to fight back.

Bachende immediately ordered his troops to prepare for a volley of musket fire.

But before he could give the order to fire, a gunshot was heard.

I don’t know who took the lead, but the next moment, almost everyone started shooting indiscriminately.

The crackling sound of musket fire rang out, but because it was indiscriminate firing rather than a volley, the impact on Xiao Chaogui's troops was extremely limited.

At the same time, the Qing army's artillery also opened fire.

However, this time, as soon as the Qing army's artillery fired, one of its cannons exploded.

Amid the loud bang, the artillery and the gunner were blown into the sky.

"The Qing demon's cannon exploded. The Qing demon's cannon exploded again. May God bless us!"

"Kill! Kill the Qing monsters and go to heaven!"

Seeing this, the morale of Xiao Chaogui's troops became high again, and the speed of the charge increased.

Of course, the reason for the artillery explosion was not the blessing from God as the Taiping Army believed.

But it’s because of Li Yi’s blessing!

The artillery deployed by the Qing army on the flank battlefield this time were not new goods brought from the capital by the Wuzhen Chaoha Heavy Artillery Battalion, but "captured" by the Qing army in the battle of Teng County.

After obtaining this batch of artillery, Li Xingyuan chose to let it accompany the army and then brought it to the city of Guilin.

Before he left office, he forgot to remind Cézanne that these were a batch of old cannons and should be used with care.

Then there is no more!

The gunners of the Wuzhenchaoha heavy artillery battalion loaded these old-fashioned cannons according to the amount of powder required for the new cannons. As soon as they opened fire, the barrels exploded, didn't they?

The sound of bullets whizzing through the air kept ringing in his ears. A bullet fired from a gun brushed past Xiao Chaogui's cheek and killed one of his bodyguards. Brains and blood were all over Xiao Chaogui's body.

However, Xiao Chaogui seemed to be completely unaware of this. He still bravely charged forward and led his men to charge towards the Qing army.

Soon, the two sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

If we say that during the stage of musket shooting, the Qing army could barely fight back and forth with the Taiping army, but when the two sides started to fight in close combat, the Qing army was completely at a disadvantage and was suppressed by the Taiping army throughout the whole process.

Ba Qingde's troops continued to retreat and did not dare to engage in a bloody battle with Xiao Chaogui.

Seeing this, Cézanne had no choice but to mobilize reinforcements to reinforce his left wing.

However, as the reinforcements were mobilized, loopholes inevitably appeared on the Qing army's front line.

Yang Xiuqing seized this opportunity and immediately ordered the Taiping Army to launch a full-scale attack on the front battlefield.

"Brothers, kill!"

"Kill the Qing monster and go to heaven!"

"Long live the King of Heaven, long live the Father!"

"..."

Seeing this, Césanne could only let his reserve troops keep an eye on him.

But at this time, Wei Changhui also received a military order and led his troops to attack the right wing of the Qing army.

Seeing the urgent battle situation outside the city, Xiang Rong's troops in Guilin City personally led their troops out of the city to provide assistance.

However, they were stopped by Shi Dakai, who was sent by Yang Xiuqing and was well prepared.

The two sides engaged in a fierce fighting outside the city of Guilin.

Under the extreme pull of the Taiping Army, the main force of the Qing army led by Césanne began to show signs of defeat.

Of course, since the scale of the battlefield is so large, whether it is winning or losing cannot be decided in a short time.

The two sides are still fighting fiercely!

It was not until dusk that the Qing army finally could not hold on and began to retreat...

Upon seeing this, the Taiping Army wanted to pursue the enemy, but they did not have the strength to do so and could only call it a day.

……

That night, the stars were shining brightly and a half moon was hanging high in the sky.

Cézanne stood in front of a map with a bitter look on his face.

He originally thought that after all the reinforcements arrived, he could lead his troops to defeat the Taiping bandits and achieve success in one fell swoop.

Unexpectedly, the war turned out to be such a horrible thing!
He finally understood why Li Xingyuan said that the long-haired bandits were the worst among all bandits.

What Li Xingyuan said is absolutely not false!
Listening to the constant reports of losses from his generals, Seshan'a's face was full of bitterness.

In today's battle, the Qing army's various units were in a state of decline.

What if we have to fight again tomorrow?

To put it bluntly, if he led his troops to retreat into Guilin, with the troops he had, he could indeed protect Guilin, but what then?

What should we do with the bandits outside the city?
If he really sat back and watched the bandits wreak havoc in the local area, then the imperial edicts from the court urging him to go to war would probably be issued in bulk.

……

On the other side, the atmosphere in the Taiping Army camp was also somewhat solemn.

Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing both looked gloomy.

Xiao Chaogui was wrapped in bandages and blood was oozing from the wound.

One of Wei Changhui's arms was in a splint hanging in front of his chest; it must have been broken.

After a moment, Yang Xiuqing spoke first.

"I originally planned to defeat the Qing reinforcements outside the city in one battle today, and then our army can calmly choose whether to continue attacking Guilin or turn to other directions."

"But judging from today's battle situation, although our army has the upper hand, it is not easy to destroy the Qing army outside Guilin City."

"So, I think our Heavenly Kingdom should probably make plans sooner rather than later!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chaogui asked with a serious expression.

"Guilin won't fight anymore?"

Yang Xiuqing shook his head.

"do not fight!"

"The situation does not allow us to continue fighting."

"Although the Qing troops outside Guilin are no match for our Heavenly Soldiers in a field battle, if they retreat into Guilin, we will be helpless against them."

"No matter how you look at it, there is no chance of conquering Guilin City now."

"No need to waste any more time outside Guilin!"

Upon hearing this, Hong Xiuquan opened his mouth and asked.

"Then King Dong, what do you think we should do next?"

"Go south and fight back to Xunzhou, or something else?"

Seeing that the war in Guilin was going badly, Hong Xiuquan once again wanted to return to his hometown in Xunzhou.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing just shook his head.

"Not only can I not go back to Xunzhou, I can no longer stay in the entire Guangxi."

"Right now, the Qing demons have gathered their troops from Guangxi, Guizhou, and Hunan provinces in Guangxi, and they may mobilize more troops to encircle and suppress us at any time."

"If the Heavenly Kingdom cannot open up the situation as soon as possible, it is very likely that it will be trapped and killed by the Qing army next."

"So, we must find a way to escape the Qing army's encirclement."

“Leaving the province may be our best option right now!”

Yang Xiuqing had a keen sense of war.

Looking at the small flags representing the Qing army on the map, he clearly realized the danger of the Taiping Army continuing to stay in Guangxi.

Upon hearing this, Hong Xiuquan frowned and asked.

"So where should I go next?"

"Hunan or Guizhou?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing showed a thoughtful expression on his face and then said.

"In reply to the Heavenly King, my idea is that our Heavenly Kingdom can go north, through Xing'an, Quanzhou and other places, and go straight into Hunan along the Xiangjiang River."

"Then we will pass through the two lakes, go east along the Yangtze River, and focus on Nanjing. We will take Nanjing and make it our home."

Upon hearing this, Hong Xiuquan frowned and began to think.

Before he could make a decision, Yang Xiuqing's eyes suddenly rolled up, and he slumped in his chair, with his whole body twitching as if he had the seizures.

Seeing this, Hong Xiuquan and others couldn't help but frown.

Because, this is the photo of God before he came down to earth!
Xiao Chaogui is even more familiar with this, because he usually likes to do this kind of death, letting Brother Tian come down to earth...

Hong Xiuquan took a deep breath, and finally led everyone to kneel down in front of Yang Xiuqing and said.

“Welcome Heavenly Father!”

After a while, Yang Xiuqing finally stopped twitching and spoke in a mumbling voice.

"My son Xiuquan, the army is heading north, heading for Nanjing!"

"The army is heading north, with its sights set on Nanjing!"

"Have you ever understood?"

When Hong Xiuquan saw this, he felt disgusted, but he still spoke.

"Don't worry, Heavenly Father. I understand!"

After hearing this, Yang Xiuqing continued.

"In that case, then my father will go..."

After he finished speaking, Yang Xiuqing convulsed violently again.

Then he suddenly opened his eyes, saw Hong Xiuquan kneeling in front of him, and hurriedly spoke.

"What is your Majesty doing? You are trying to embarrass me!"

Hong Xiuquan forced a very forced smile and began to speak.

"Xiuqing, you don't know that just now it was Heavenly Father who borrowed your body to come down to earth."

"The one I kneel for is Heavenly Father, how can I be humiliated?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing showed an expression of realization and then asked.

"May I ask the Heavenly King, what did the Heavenly Father say when he came down to earth?"

Hong Xiuquan took a deep breath.

"Heavenly Father has said that the army should march north, with its sights set on Nanjing!"

"I have already received your order!"

"Let the King of the East make the arrangements for this matter!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing nodded and said.

"I obey the orders of the Heavenly King and Heavenly Father!"

PS: Today is my birthday and I have to go out, so there is only one chapter. I will resume normal updates tomorrow.

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(End of this chapter)