On the rainy wilderness that gradually moved away from Changsha, the figures fleeing in twos and threes became more and more scarce with the shouts of those chasing back and forth.

"I can't do it either, you better run away quickly."

Wang Xianchao, who used to be the history of Gushi County and is now a military official under the official army, is already running with a blue face, sitting in the mud with his ass, and is out of breath in front of the two brothers who turned back and dragged him to continue running.

"Seeing that it is not far from the mountains and forests, you may have a way to survive if you hide in the forest."

"Brother, how can this be done, we said that we will come out together to join the army and seek wealth, and we will also go back to the glorious lintel together. What's the matter of leaving you behind?"

The other two younger brothers, whose faces were covered with mud, shouted one after another with tears streaming down their faces.

"You two clumsy goods, don't take care of me anymore, if you can get rid of one by one, the most important thing is to pass on the incense at home."

Wang Xianchao waved his hand a little fiercely to drive away and scolded him.

"Even if you can't go back to Gushi's hometown in Gwangju (now Xinyang, Henan), you can find a place to live in a foreign country.

"I knew earlier, I would have voted for the Wang (Xu) butcher and his brother-in-law (Liu Xingquan) in Shouzhou (now Shou County, Anhui Province);"

One of the younger brothers complained in time.

"Anyway, I also made someone come to pull a few of our brothers, and I don't have to die so hard with Li Chou'er to be this foreign ghost."

"I'll stay with my eldest brother. You guys just go first. ”

Another staggering figure approached with a branch, but it was his cousin Wang Yanfu, who was also in the army with a bleak face and a wounded body.

"At the end of the second year of Qianfu (875), I voted for the general of the mending sky (Wang Xianzhi) with the history of the assassination, and followed the king of Chongtian (Huang Chao) for some time, maybe I can still meet the old acquaintance in this grass thief, and ask for a love to survive."

While they were arguing, they saw a number of grass thieves riding small pennants chasing after them, and Wang Xianchao couldn't help but be ruthless and kicked and beat the younger brother who still had two remaining strength to drive away; Seeing them roll and crawl into a jungle and wait, they described the bleakness as they faced the chasing rider with swords and spears, and knelt on the ground with their heads in their hands and made a look of submission.

Then, he was lassoed and tightened by a rope that was immediately thrown down and dragged and swayed, while the injured Wang Yanfu did not have this treatment, and the other party just shouted in a very heavily accented tone.

"Can this guy still walk?"

"He can walk, but he is injured in the arm, and he can still walk."

Wang Xianchao suddenly felt some kind of danger, and hurriedly spoke up.

"Then get up and jump a few times."

The other party unceremoniously aimed at the tip of the spear, and Wang Yan, who was a little out of breath, replied.

And on the edge of the forest not far away, the remaining cavalry rebels chased after him, and Wang Xianchao could only worry about his future while praying for his younger brother who had escaped.

。。。。。。

After nightfall, Changsha City was once again illuminated by the torches wandering in the streets and alleys and the lights in the buildings, and the preliminary results outside the city had also been counted and sent to Zhou Huai'an.

Although this untimely rain hindered the efficiency of the follow-up pursuit and battlefield messaging; However, in the chaotic battle in the camp under the city alone, more than 3,000 corpses of officers and soldiers were left, and more than 1,000 prisoners were captured or surrendered on the spot. Among them, there were more than 600 mixed horse carcasses, and more than 100 mounts that were abandoned or abandoned alive were recovered.

This is an authentic Northland war horse with a complete saddle, a high head and wide shoulders, and even if it is injured, it can be used as a breeding population base; Compared with those in the south who are hard-working and suitable for pulling and riding, but are not resistant to sprinting and lack continuous explosiveness, the lower southern horse breeds such as Qianma, Gui Ma, and Guoxia Horse are far more powerful;

It's like the difference between a big off-road jeep and a small country pickup truck and a tow truck. This is a trophy that Zhou Huai'an values compared to any mountain of armor.

Of course, because of the hasty response of the rebels in the early and middle stages, the casualties caused by this will not be less, and even slightly more than the total number of officers and soldiers who attacked them. On the other hand, the overall performance of the Taiping Army is still within its expectations;

Although it is not perfect in many tactical details, it is a little rough and inexperienced, and even has a lot of mistakes and mistakes in the urgency; However, the overall training and organization advantages can be fully exerted with the passage of time and the transition of the jerky period; The collective scale effect of effective quantitative to qualitative change makes up for these mistakes and omissions.

Therefore, after a series of bitter battles with these indiscriminate officers and soldiers, the damage of the battalions that were counted as the main combat force was not obvious, and basically failed to reach the level of wounding muscles and bones; As long as it is supplemented and short-term running-in, the basic strength can be quickly restored. It is mainly used as a teaching brigade for the emergency fire team, and the small casualties after bearing the brunt of the fire brigade make people feel a little painful; and the new third battalion was eventually broken up and defeated, resulting in greater losses.

However, among the two major camps in the north and east of the city, more than a dozen supplementary battalions of the rebel army from other parts were being formed, but most of them were directly destroyed because they happened to face the sudden invasion of the official army; As a result, it has taken up the lion's share of all kinds of casualties, and there are still many who have escaped in the wild and have not been able to recover it.

And Zhou Huai'an, as the first collective commendation after the war, was to reconvene the remnants of the new third battalion that did not return to the enemy; After many new and old battalions have come forward to announce the priority of replenishment and reorganization, the third battalion of the rear battalion, that is, the eleventh battalion, will be given the number of the rear battalion.

And thus obtained Zhou Huai'an's "hand" written "stone" exclusive camp head title, since then it can be embroidered on the horizontal edge of the Taiping green flag of the battalion, as a long-term commemoration and honor. This is also another reward that makes people particularly blushing but has to be convinced after the battle medal in the army.

As the so-called courage of being the first to bear the enemy's charge and outnumbering the crowd, fighting to the death for a long time and not retreating until the arrival of backup, not everyone has it. And this battalion happens to be where a considerable proportion of all kinds of Long March athletes and frontier soldiers are located; Accustomed to drowning in outnumbered warbands in the long-term confrontation against the barbarian mountain tribes.

When the leading battalion commander Wang Gui was killed on the spot, the deputy commander Zhong Yi immediately commanded the battle until he was seriously wounded, and Sun Xiu was repeatedly replaced. until they were broken by enemy cavalry. This also bought a particularly valuable time and buffer for the regrouping and regrouping of friendly forces and putting them into the battlefield.

The fighting spirit and tactical literacy embodied during this period are undoubtedly enough to become a model and one of the criteria for consideration in the Taiping Army.

But the next day, when the last of the pursuing men and horses also returned with the captives and captives; However, it is regrettable that the existence of Li Hanzhi, the chief general of the official army, was not found; Only one general Yang Shihou led the troops to resist to the end, and attracted most of the attention of the Taiping army.

。。。。。。

At the same time, in the southwest of Changsha City, in the upper reaches of the Liuyang River, which was temporarily ignored, Li Hanzhi was sitting on a small fishing boat with a few relatives who were shirtless and wearing only single clothes, and were paddling away with all their might.

Of course, Shen Bin, the secret envoy and guest sent by Liu Jurong, the envoy of this Shannan Festival. Ziziwen's guy is not as tough and stubborn as he says; After sending someone to take him to see scenes such as "ants on the tree" and "fish-flavored shredded pork", it was easy to choose compromise and cooperation. Although it is not the result of knowing everything and saying everything, it is also the result of answering all questions.

Zhou Huai'an also obtained more information about the rebels on the part of the imperial court; As a judgment and deduction for one's next move.

For example, Liu Jurong, the envoy of Shannan Jiedu, who once said that he wanted to keep thieves in order to save his wealth, this time it was rare to urge his subordinates to march south; Obviously, there is a hidden result.

For another example, because he was dissatisfied with the personnel transfer of the imperial court, and he was resentful, he neither moved the town nor entered the army to fight the thieves, and still supported the troops to sit and watch the Jiangxi envoy Cao Quanxi in the upper reaches of the Han River.

While he was thinking, he heard a new message.

"Wang Chongba pleaded guilty himself."

Zhou Huai'an was stunned for a moment before someone called him in.

found that he was shirtless and carrying a bundle of eight-pound wattles, and his back was already bloody. Well, this is really a real guilty plea, and I don't know where he heard about and looked at the means.

"There is a reason for your affairs, but it is inevitable, I will punish you to set an example, have you ever been convinced?"

Although he thought so in his heart, Zhou Huai'an still said in a straight way.

"Be convinced, this is what I deserve, even if I sacrifice my life."

He said in a very neat and neat voice.

"It's just, please deal with it as soon as possible so as not to delay the business."

"Naturally, I'm scheming."

Zhou Huai'an looked at him in a little surprise before saying.

"You left your post without permission and became out of touch with other departments, causing the officers and soldiers to cross the border and the consequences of the northern part of the city, it is really difficult to escape the blame, according to the law, you should be punished with sixty lashes and half a month's punishment."

Under the military discipline and laws of the Taiping Army today, most of the punishments that are too complicated, or purely humiliating, or that the physical injury is greater than the symbolic meaning, have been omitted, and only a limited number of punishments have been retained.

"Besides, it's useless for me to ask for your life, so it's better to use the white body as a five-year period for the efficiency of my department. I think that the redemption of the future, you can be convinced. ”

"Be careful."

Wang Chongba was stunned for a moment, and he had no time to think.

"Considering that the military situation is urgent, and you are still needed to guide the way and drive forward, I will temporarily use ten lashes in public,"

Zhou Huai paused and said.

"The rest of the punishments will be recorded after the siege of Gangneung is lifted, and then it will be done one by one. I hope you can be ashamed and courageous, and move forward boldly without losing caution... ”

"Thank you for the opportunity to redeem the army again, and you should do your best to reciprocate it. . . ."

Suddenly, he fell to the ground and said loudly.

"Please wait and see."

At this moment, Zhou Huai celebrated with a slight flick in his heart; Another decent human hand into my pocket; is the so-called truth that it is better to make merit than to make mistakes, can you still get out of your own encirclement and grasp after working under your own hands for five years?

Of course, he had this calculation, mainly because he had too few suitable generals for his subordinates; will hit this idea of digging into the corners of friendly forces. And this Wang Chongba at least has both courage and enough experience, as well as self-seeking; Of course, if the consequences he caused were too serious, he wouldn't mind using this person to make an example.

(End of chapter)