On the wall of Luocheng outside Gangneung, it has once again become a fierce battle battlefield for reciprocating contention.

Under the staggered arrows fired by the Taiping army and the official army, in the temporary fence set up through the narrow aisle at the head of the city, they all moved their spears and stabbed them fiercely; Constantly someone fell to the ground and was dragged away, and immediately someone substituted without hesitation.

At this time, a dozen uneven fire pots were suddenly thrown out of the rear column of the Taiping army, and in an instant, I saw flowing fire balls and flame streams, blooming in the dense crowd of officers and soldiers on the opposite side who had almost nowhere to put their feet; Burning and scorching, these officers and soldiers screamed so badly that they could not escape, and they rushed to run and jump down from both sides of the city wall in a panic.

Then, with the sound of the whistle blowing again, these Taiping soldiers would take advantage of the momentum to push away the blocking barriers, and drop many regimental signs wrapped in wet cloths, crush down the burning ground and corpses, and then step on these uneven temporary passages, and continue to wave their weapons and chase away towards the defeated and fleeing figures in the distance.

I saw them chasing and killing these defeated officers and soldiers all the way to jump from the city or kneel to beg for mercy, and constantly passed one after another incomplete arrow towers and guard towers; Again and again, the remaining officers and soldiers were driven and forced out with thrown firearms, and then killed and captured on the relatively spacious city wall.

It wasn't until they approached another castle head and gatehouse that they re-encountered the sabre players of several rows of officers neatly arrayed in the open area; At this time, the soldiers of the peace in these attacks also changed their weapons to short spears with hooks and thin-edged swords that were more suitable for use in the mountains and narrow areas.

I saw that they were in a neat and uniform block, and the fierce movements of striking, slashing, and screaming and scolding; The shield wall of players and blades on the opposite side had been pulled open and many gaps had been made, and the crossbowmen of the back team had seen the needles flying, knocking their exposed bodies to the ground.

Then the remaining saber players didn't last long, and they screamed one after another. For there were also soldiers of the peace who were lying low and hiding under the hook spear, and they took advantage of the situation and crawled and rolled under the blind corner of their licensed sight;

I saw them wielding sharp and narrow swords and short knives one after another, easily piercing the calves and lower bodies that could not be covered by the officers and soldiers regimental cards from the bottom up, or cutting and chopping off their soles and tendons.

In the midst of the blood splattered and poured all over the ground, the makeshift array of these officers and soldiers was like a wall of earth that had been knocked open and smashed, quickly leaving behind many corpses and wounded, screaming and scattering, and then racing to turn and flee.

At this time, there was an officer and army general dressed in two armors, and personally led the guards who looked smaller and more fine, and made a detour from the other side of the gatehouse to meet the battle;

I saw that his born Kong Wu was stout and the first soldier was in front, holding a three-pointed door gun and waving it on his head, and suddenly smashed down and swept over the first few Taiping soldiers who rushed out of the queue, and shouted loudly:

"Wu Na dirty foot thief, dare to fight with your Li family's grandfather."

But at the same time, on the top of the three-storey gatehouse and the edge of the inner wall, as if in response to his words, many figures of officers and soldiers with bows and arrows quickly protruded from the panes, eaves, and battlements everywhere; Seeing it, he wanted to envelop all the Taiping soldiers and horses that broke in.

However, one step faster than their movements and orders was the fact that in an instant, a long arc of smoke trails dragged low, swept low past the Taiping soldiers and burst into the formation and descended from the sky, smashing through the tiled roof and siding and window lintels of the gatehouse, or shattering and sputtering cans and poisonous smoke balls directly on the inner walls and buttresses of rammed earth.

In the midst of many exclamations and screams, only a few of these pre-ambushed archers had time to shoot the arrows in their hands, and they were overturned and knocked down by these sudden blows of incendiary objects, and they scrambled and fled from their hiding places with smoke and burning. It's like a beehive scorched by fire.

At this time, this Xuanyu general had already dropped the door gun that was not conducive to melee combat, and took a thick-backed square-headed broadsword to open a silver wheel, cut and cut off several hook-pointed spearheads, and reflexively broke into the Taiping soldiers and fought hard; His mouth was still fighting and shouting:

"Don't panic, don't panic, the grass thief firearm is close to him, and he can't think about it."

"The rest of you don't gather together quickly, and let me kill these straw thieves. Don't give them another chance. ”

Then, before he could finish speaking, he could not help showing a certain expression of surprise and horror; Because from the back of these blocked grass thieves, with the sharp whistle again, some balls and small canisters with sparks were thrown.

"Beware of firearms, it's time to swoop down and trample on them"

The general shouted loudly, and withdrew into the crowd, personally catching one with a large pistol and wrapping it up.

Later, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when I saw that the objects thrown by these grass thieves smashed on the helmets and shoulder blades of the officers and soldiers who could not dodge, and then rolled to the ground with a loud noise, and trampled and kicked many times without splashing and burning.

Suddenly, a roar exploded around him, and in an instant, it overturned on the spot and crashed into the sharp edge of the wall of the gatehouse, and involuntarily spurted out a mouthful of blood and fainted on the spot. It's the result of inconsequentiality.

With the extremely dull sound and the spread of the air waves, the flames and smoke burst out one after another, competing under them and between their legs and feet, and completely enveloped them.

In an instant, these groups of officers and soldiers who were piled up together and drowning in battle were as if they had been evacuated of the foundation buildings; In the bloody mess that burst out, pieces collapsed and dented.

In the blink of an eye, there was not much left to continue standing, and the gray face and mouth and nose were bloodstained, looking around in disbelief and disbelief.

And among the corpses that were overturned and scattered, although there were still many officers and soldiers still alive, they were hugging the bloody legs and feet under the armor or the bloody lower bodies, and kept rolling and wailing, screaming, and moaning.

。。。。。。。

"What, the North Point Gate of Luo City has also fallen."

And Liu Jurong, the envoy of Shannan Dongdao Jiedu who was stationed in the inner city, shouted with a solemn face;

"What are the Heyang troops guarding the north of the city doing, and they are also known as the strongmen of the north, why don't you gather people and horses to take them back?"

"It's really that these sneaking enemies are too fierce, and they are especially good at defending the formation."

The general from Yang Jun's aid argued with a bitter face:

"General Zhang's sons and daughters have been attacking back and forth for a long time and are tired, but they have been scattered several times, and they have also frustrated their sharpness, and they need to have a little buffer to regroup."

"Oh no, the Pingyang army in Nanzhongmen is also in an emergency, and I ask the camp to send troops to respond and support quickly."

There was a Marquis Yu who rushed to report.

"How can this be reasonable, they are not those departments outside the city, the good and bad states are united, guarding and catching soldiers."

Liu Jurong couldn't help but scold again.

"The Pingyang soldiers are not the 4,000 people who claim to be the most sophisticated in armor, but they are also based on the location to prepare for the enemy; Why can't even resist the attack of thieves for a while? ”

"But it was the Liu soldier who led the troops to attack the thieves, and was seriously injured by the thieves' firearms when he was fighting at the head of the city, and the soldiers were depressed on the spot and rushed to abandon them."

This Yu Hou hurriedly explained.

"The rest of the heads and generals will not give in, so they are petitioning the commander to send troops to support as soon as possible, and send people to take charge of the follow-up situation."

Then, Liu Jurong raised his hand and looked in the direction of the south of the city, and there was a newly lit pillar of smoke, rising in the sky, as if it was an invisible mockery and provocation against him.

"What about the Qingzhou Army that went to the eastern corner to recapture the portal, why hasn't it been taken yet?"

Liu Jurong couldn't help but ask again.

"These thieves are really cunning and unusual."

A Qingzhou military general who was present hurriedly responded.

"He not only prepaid an ambush in the city, but also set fire to many people's homes. As a result, the follow-up of the army was hindered and the front team was not strong, and it was difficult to exert all its strength, so it could only retreat and reorganize slightly. ”

Are these Qingzhou soldiers fools who think that others are stupid, and they can say this kind of defeat in front of themselves, but they are too blind to others. Liu Jurong suddenly felt a little tired and haggard, holding down his forehead that was throbbing abruptly, trying to maintain his sobriety and calmness.

Why did he send to recapture the southern suburbs gate and the east corner gate for a long time, but on the contrary, the other side repeatedly made breakthroughs on the edge. He vaguely felt as if he was caught in the rhythm of the battlefield and the tactics of the other party.

Thinking about it further, why would there be so many twists and turns in this grass thief entrenched in Jiangling; Obviously, after such a long time, the grass thieves who may become reinforcements on the periphery should have been cleaned up.

Where did these well-organized and fierce grass thieves come from? Could it be that the elite of Huang Reverse's own formation turned their heads and killed back; However, he had only heard the news that the Huainan Army would defeat the main force of the Grass Thief East Road one after another once it came out of the battle; claimed to have beheaded tens of thousands and captured tens of thousands, and forced down several grass thieves before the battle.

Even Huang Chao, who was the head of the grass thief, was unable to resist the Huainan soldiers for a while and ran south to Jiangxi; Where did these grass thieves come from? Could it be that the news from the front was wrong or that the Huainan army falsely reported the thief's situation, which caused the main force of the grass thieves to flow to their side.

You must know that according to the high order and envoy who had been an old friend and friend of him, there was a certain tacit understanding and agreement secretly reached in the letter; It is defined by the Eyue observer who fell into the thief's power.

Jiangdong, Liangzhejiang, Xuanzhen, Fujian and part of the Jiangxi boundary in the east are the approximate scope of the Huainan Army's meritorious service to the thieves. The westward direction of Hunan, Jingnan, Shandong (south) and most of Jiangxi is the basic category of him and Cao Quanxi's suppression of thieves.

Therefore, he had previously reversed the normal state of leniency and indulgence, and spared no effort to drive his subordinates to fight to recover Jiangling, just to grasp the reason of this Jingnan Jiedu envoy, and also the water and land hubs that extend in all directions and the rich and familiar land; In order to gain more initiative and room to advance and retreat freely in the process of pursuing and suppressing the thieves in the follow-up, or seeking benefits and rewards from the imperial court.

It is precisely because of the hard work of the marching army and the tooth soldiers in his own town that the corresponding casualties and exhaustion have been accumulated; is the so-called reason that the end of the strong crossbow cannot wear Lu Mian; Therefore, it is necessary to arrange for them to carry out plundering activities in Gangneung City in turn, as a reward for venting and disguise.

This is a tradition that he cannot impose on change as a marshal. That's why he handed over the perimeter guards and city defenses to those guest troops and state soldiers. Now it seems that in the face of these sudden thieves, this arrangement is obviously a serious failure and a mistake.

Moreover, since these thieves have appeared here in a dignified manner; That also means that several partial divisions have been assigned to the south to recover the lost territory, including the 3,000 loyal army led by Zhou Yanling, and the Huaizhou soldiers under Li Hanzhi, who are still known as elites; and the arrangements in Tanzhou City that are ready to return to obedience and the imperial court anyway, can no longer be counted on.

Coupled with the local state armies in Shannan outside the city that have been defeated or defeated, it can be said that at least one-third of his plan to recover from the south this time is to turn into water. But at least compared to those subordinate armies whose performance is very different between tailwinds and contrarians; At present, he is living in the inner city, and most of the tooth soldiers and most of the marching battalion soldiers are still intact and ready for battle.

So a choice of where to go was also put in front of him by the change of the situation; To fight or not to fight, or how to persist in this chaotic battle. At this time, in the direction of Yacheng, where the Jiedu Envoy was located, a rapid shouting of killing broke out again;

Liu Jurong couldn't help but sigh heavily, he didn't have to make any more choices.

(End of chapter)