Yang Fang's heart sank: lying about the victory, of course, is to boost morale, there is still something to say, but to let the French soldiers defend Xicheng shows that Guan Zhuofan is going to Qibao, and there is no certainty of victory at all.

He went to fight hard with Tan Shaoguang.

The battle situation of Qibao has really reached a critical moment, the Xuan army suffered a loss in the absence of artillery, and the battle was very hard, and the sentry surnamed Qi had been killed. Ixan was shot in the shoulder, and his head was also cut by the broken debris splashed by the shells, his face was covered with blood, and he described it horribly, and he hung one left arm, still shouting and scolding, urging the remaining more than 100 people to fight to the death.

More than half of the more than 300 Xuan troops were defeated, and the Taiping army also had hundreds of dead and wounded, but because they saw the hope of success, the offensive was fierce. Both sides thought of the same thing—what Ixan thought was to defend the edge of the town, and never let the longhair rush into the town, otherwise the foreign guns would be useless, and if they fought hand-to-hand with bayonets, the Xuan army would be few and it would be difficult to escape the risk of destruction; What Tan Shaoguang thought was that as long as he broke through a gap and rushed into the town to fight hand-to-hand with knives and spears, the officers and soldiers would definitely not be opponents.

The casualties on both sides are increasing, and in this way of fighting and attrition, the Xuan army suffers, and the battle line is slowly leaking. Just when Guan Zhuofan's reinforcements had just entered the town from the south, Tan Shaoguang used three earthen cannons to bombard the position where Tuan Yong was located outside the town, and then with a death squad of 200 people, under the gunfire of the Xuan army on both sides, forcibly charged, and finally opened the defensive line. Seven or eight Tuan Yong were hacked to death before they could get up, and the remaining dozen or so fled to the town without their lives. The positions of the Xuan army on both sides also began to loosen because of such a change.

The north side of the town. It is an ancestral hall. Guan Zhuofan's soldiers have just arrived. He ran head-on into the rout that bypassed, followed by more than a hundred Taiping troops who followed in. When they met on a narrow road, both sides were stunned, and then they shouted together. The officials and soldiers shouted "Kill Long Hair!" And the Taiping army shouted "Kill the demons!" A Taiping soldier who combed his hair into several braids, coiled tightly on the top, and tied it with red silk. recognized that Guan Zhuofan, who was rushing in front, was an official, raised a spear in his hand, and stabbed Guan Zhuofan in the chest, before Guan Zhuofan raised his knife to separate, suddenly a gunshot rang out, and the Taiping soldier was beaten backwards and fell to the ground.

It was Túrin who put the gun, although he was named "General Belt", he refused to leave Guan Zhuofan's side for a moment. More than 30 pro-soldiers shouted. rushed over first, and everyone carried foreign guns behind their backs. Wielding a knife in his right hand and holding a gun in his left hand - this gun, like the one in Túrin's hand, was a revolver with a resounding name called "Six Rings of Roteeling", which was considered an extremely rare weapon at the time. In hand-to-hand combat, suddenly using such a weapon was like cheating, and in an instant, dozens of Taiping troops rushed in were knocked down. The brigade behind Guan Zhuofan rushed forward with momentum, swords and sticks.

The death squad of this Taiping army, although they were all warriors specially selected by Tan Shaoguang, was blinded by the "six rings of the chamber" at the beginning of the random shooting, and the momentum was discouraged, so they fell behind, and fought with more than 300 miscellaneous officers and soldiers for a while, with heavy casualties, and the remaining dozens of people were expelled from the town, but at the gap, they met the second group of 300 Taiping troops rushing up.

This time, the situation is different. The Xuan army on both sides saw that reinforcements were coming, although they were in high spirits, and the long hair, who had already retreated, also reflexively fought again because of the help of three hundred fresh troops. Guan Zhuofan's own soldiers, the bullets of the short guns in their hands have gradually run out, and the more than 100 soldiers with foreign guns, after letting go of the first shot, there is no room to reload, six or seven hundred people are in a mess at the gap, they are all gritting their teeth and fighting, it depends on who can't hold this breath first.

Iksan didn't know where this group of reinforcements came from, he brought more than 20 soldiers from the west side, and ran over to reinforce out of breath, and saw Guan Zhuofan in a yellow coat, carrying a saber, and was blocked in the middle by Túlin with a few personal soldiers, and couldn't help but be surprised, rushed over to protect him, and shouted: "Boss, why are you here?" ”

"Don't talk nonsense!" Guan Zhuofan saw his appearance and knew that he was injured, but now he had no time to care about this, gritted his teeth and said, "Yixan, haven't you always boasted of your martial arts?" If I can still fight, rush up and cut it for me! ”

"Huh!" Ixan has always been the strongest kung fu in the Xuan army, although one left arm can't move, he still holds the knife with his right hand, and shouts, "Mr. Guan is here to supervise the battle, brothers kill!" With more than 20 soldiers with bayonets, he rushed into the battle group, and Túrin was also very alert, taking advantage of the situation and shouting behind him: "Kill, kill a long hair, it is a hundred eagles!" ”

Under such a double encouragement, the blood-splashed position was full of murderous sounds, and the officers and soldiers, who were not good at close combat, did not fall behind. Tan Shaoguang saw it at the position of the Taiping Army, and knew that it was a critical moment, so he put down the clairvoyant mirror in his hand, ordered the trumpet to be blown, and the whole army charged. As soon as the horn sounded, more than 1,000 Taiping soldiers dressed in yellow clothes and wrapped in red scarves shouted, raised dozens of flags, and rushed forward. The officers and soldiers who were fighting the position, seeing the majesty of Long Hair, and the cowardice of their lives, showed signs that they could not support it.

At this moment, a "Tianyi" beside Tan Shaoguang suddenly pointed to the east with his hand, his face showed a look of panic, and shouted: "Horse team!" Colts! ”

The horse caravan that came from the east stretched the platoon extremely wide, almost in a horizontal line, and galloped forward. At first glance, it is not a line, and then it is like the tide of the sea, and when you hear the neighing of horses, it is already raging and unstoppable. The sound of the windy hooves was enough to breathe the soul, and the iron hooves swept the ground, raising smoke and dust in the sky behind him, and the momentum became more and more fierce.

Tan Shaoguang's face changed greatly, and he knew that he had met his nemesis, this Xuan army horse team, which was known as invincible in the world.

The horse team galloped to a distance of twenty or thirty zhang, and hundreds of horse guns rang out in unison, first knocking down a piece of the Taiping army, and then hung up the gun, drew the saber, and rose obliquely, shining with a golden light under the reflection of the setting sun, and cut into the Taiping army that was charging.

The infantry, which was scattered in formation in the field, could not withstand the onslaught of the horse team. The Taiping army was immediately crushed by such a blow, and fled in all directions on the battlefield, followed by cavalry in pursuit. The more than 300 Taiping troops who were fighting hand-to-hand with the officers and troops in the gap had already gained the upper hand, but at this time they also had no fighting spirit, turned around and fled backwards. The officers and soldiers were all brave, and they wanted to grab the reward of the hundred eagles, and under the leadership of Ixan, they pursued endlessly, and the Xuan troops on both sides also took bayonets and covered the middle.

Tan Shaoguang couldn't contain the formation anymore, his face was like ashes, and he sighed, he didn't expect to be defeated like this. Knowing that once there is a defeat here, Li Rongfa on the East Road will definitely not be lucky, and the war in Shanghai will never be able to do anything from now on! However, at this point, the situation was finally untenable, so he had to be escorted by more than a dozen personal soldiers to get on the horse and flee to Qingpu.

"Boss!" Daniel Zhang finally found Guan Zhuofan, jumped off the horse and asked for peace, "You're not hurt, are you?!" ”

"I didn't even move my hands, how could I get hurt?" Guan Zhuofanqiang, who was frightened, said with a smile. He said in his heart that this battle has risen and fallen several times, and it has been reversed every time it is at the juncture of life and death, which is really a blessing to invite the heavens, and it is better to play less in such a dangerous thing of great joy and sorrow in the future. When Ixan limped over, supported by a soldier, he was moved and greeted him.

"Ixan, is it hurting?" Guan Zhuofan was taken aback when he saw him covered in blood, "Why did you shed so much blood?" ”

"Boss, I didn't embarrass you!" Ixan scarred the ground with a knife, but still asked him for a peace, grinning in pain, still squeezing out a smile: "This is all long-haired blood!" ”

"Alright, alright, I know, get up." Guan Zhuofan picked him up with his own hands, "Today's battle will give you the first credit!" ”

Checking the battlefield, a total of 700 people were killed and more than 400 were captured. The Xuan army suffered more than 200 casualties, and the army brought out of Shanghai also lost more than 40 deaths. Guan Zhuofan instructed Xu Zhizhu to make an inventory and prepare to double the pension as usual, and ordered the seriously injured to be sent back to Shanghai. After all this was done, the night was already dark, and the soldiers of each battalion were already burying pots and making rice, Guan Zhuofan and Daniel Zhang came to the big tent of the grain platform, ready to eat a little casually and return to the city.

"Mr. Xu, quickly take something to eat, don't cook it freshly, don't stick to steamed buns and cold rice, anything will be done." Daniel Zhang shouted, "I haven't eaten for a day, I'm so hungry." ”

"Come slowly," Guan Zhuofan suddenly remembered something, "You send a sentry horse team to Sijing to garrison first—it's already empty, and if Tan Shaoguang harasses him again, there will be trouble." ”

"Cheng," Daniel Zhang got up, went out and ordered this matter first, before turning back and saying with a smile: "Boss, you are also careful, Tan Shaoguang's defeat is over, and he will no longer be able to play any tricks." It's a pity that he escaped quickly today, otherwise I would have pulled his top melon peel with my own hands to see you. ”

"It's better to be careful," Guan Zhuofan was so tired that he still said forcefully: "There's a telegraph there, but it's a precious thing." Besides, I don't know how the old Ding Wall and them are playing in Takahashi. ”

"You can definitely win, this guy Wall, there is indeed a set of wars, and the cannons on the foreigner warships are really sharp." Daniel Zhang said, "It's just that there are woods, rivers, ditches and paddy fields everywhere, and the artillery trucks are not easy to walk, or that small gang would have been captured earlier." Boss, don't worry, even if you can't take it today, the field artillery will be in place at night, and you will definitely be able to capture it tomorrow. ”

Before the words fell, I heard the sound of horses' hooves, and someone dismounted outside and asked loudly, "Where is Master Guan?" ”

After a while, Túrin brought in a person, and Guan Zhuofan recognized that it was the Zhou commissioner sent by the Provincial Administration to sit in the county office. When he saw Guan Zhuofan, his face couldn't stop being happy, and he said loudly: "Master Guan, great joy!" ”

Where does the joy come from? Guan Zhuofan was a little confused.

"Yang Daotai sent me to deliver the letter, the official army broke the long hair in Gaoqiao, killed countless enemies, captured countless people, and Li Rongfa was also cut off his head." (To be continued......)