For Liu Xun and Daniel Zhang, Guan Zhuofan's words were only half-said.

With his familiarity with history, he naturally knows a lot about Zhao Jingxian. He wants to save Zhao Jingxian, of course, not only because Zhao Jingxian is a "national soldier" - a national soldier returning to the country, but also depends on who he works for. This person has great talent and power, but he attaches great importance to kindness, so he laid this foreshadowing, and if he can collect it for his own use in the future, he will be a capable talent.

Guan Zhuofan knew that if he didn't save him, his fate would be to die at the hands of Li Xiucheng. However, whether it can be saved now or not, we have to see if Zheng Guokui, who goes to Qingpu again, can live up to his mission.

On the second day, the Xuan army outside Qingpu City was nervous, and if Gao Yongkuan did not open the city by noon, he would have to attack it.

The main direction of the Xuan army's attack was placed at the west gate, and the main attack was Jiang De's German regiment, assisted by a foreign regiment, and most of the artillery was concentrated in this direction.

Jiang De was appreciated by Guan Zhuofan, transferred from Li Hengsong's subordinates to the Xuan Army, and now he has been promoted to regimental officer and awarded the fourth rank of the capital, he is very grateful, but at the same time, he also feels that his own merits are a little inferior compared to others.

Compared with Ixan and Ding Ruchang, the family is the main regiment, with four battalion heads, and if you count the long husband, there are nearly 3,000 people in the full formation, and they are equipped with breech guns. His German regiment, like Wu Jianying's regiment, was composed of three battalion heads, not only with a small number of people, but also armed with front-loaded rifled guns -- although it was much stronger than the Taiping army and the Huai army, it was still impossible to envy the two of them.

As for the regiment of foreign guns led by the "Fu Devils", although there are only three battalions. But many of the officers were Americans and Portuguese. The combat power is indeed the strongest. Jiang De was convinced by this. But now even Wu Jianying, a person who came from Changmao, has made great contributions, breaking through the camps of Changmao's South Road, capturing Huang Wenjin alive, and comparing the German character group, which makes Jiang De's heart sullen and unable to let go.

It's good now! Jiang De thought to himself, I'll take Qingpu City down. Compare with Wu Jianying, see whose credit is greater? He arrested Huang Wenjin, and I arrested Gao Yongkuan, and I will never lose to him again.

With this layer of planning, Jiang De inspected the preparations of his subordinates before the battle in great detail, especially how the gun positions of each field gun were placed, and whether the muzzle was calibrated or not, he had to look at them one by one and tell them again and again. Even the eighty rounds of flowering shells rated for each gun. I can't wait to bend down and count it myself.

The shadow of the sun moved westward, but there was still no movement in Qingpu City. The Xuan Army's position outside the city was also silent, but the atmosphere became more and more tense.

In August, the air was already slightly cool, but Jiang De, who was fully dressed, had sweaty palms full of sweat - more because of excitement and excitement. He couldn't stop looking at his pocket watch, and only waited for the long and short needles to point to twelve o'clock, which was noon, that is, the siege time set by the marshal.

Time passed minute by minute in this difficult waiting, and when it was just a quarter of noon, Ding Shijie, who was supervising the battle, finally gave the order for the whole army to prepare. The emplacements of dozens of cannons immediately began to get busy, and the fire keepers and loaders began to charge under the command of the gun commander, and the infantry men began to erect their barrels and fill the first bullet into the chamber. A battalion of people who acted as death squads, then Zuihou tightened his legs one at a time and picked up his bayonet.

Jiang De's heart was pounding - the time for meritorious service was coming!

However, the heavens did not fulfill people's wishes, and at this time, there was a loud and clattering sound in the city, and a total of six city gates in Qingpu City, four large and two small, suddenly opened.

Gao Yongkuan fell.

*

*

Tan Shaoguang commanded the Taiping Army on the North Road and withdrew from Jiading. Although it can be regarded as "although defeated but not chaotic", under the joint pursuit of the Xuan army and the Huai army, the number of casualties and prisoners still increased by several thousand.

After this battle, the general trend in the southeast was reversed. Both sides knew that from now on, the Taiping army would no longer be able to map Shanghai in the east, but "southern Jiangsu Province", and would begin to face the fierce attack of the Xuanhuai army.

At the beginning of the battle, the Taiping army had 30,000 men on the south and middle roads, and more than 40,000 on the north route, totaling more than 70,000. By the end of the day, about forty percent of the troops had been lost, half of which were lost in the Battle of Nanqiao, the Battle of Qingshuikeng, and the Battle of Qingpu, which were lost in the hands of the Xuan army; The other half was produced in the tragic attack and defense with the Huai army around Jiading and Baoshan.

In addition to the casualties on the battlefield of Jiading, the elite of the Huai army who were encircled and annihilated in Banqiao had as many as 4,000 people. All in all, the casualties of the Huai army alone have already reached 7,000, and if the losses of the green battalion and Tuanyong are added, they are comparable to the casualties of the Taiping army on the North Road.

The big winner is Xuan Jun. First of all, he showed weakness, made a posture of inaction, secretly trained the troops, once he started to move, with strong firepower, and acted at great speed, not only in Nanqiao, Qingshuikeng and Qingpu won three consecutive battles, but also to the north to aid Jiading, west to Kunshan, everywhere one step faster, the Taiping army lost its soul. The number of soldiers killed in the Xuan army was 273, and the number of wounded was only 700, which was a world of difference compared with the battle losses of the Taiping army.

In terms of killing and wounding enemy generals, the Xuanhuai army had its own merits -- the Huai army successively killed Li Xiucheng's generals Gao Luozi and Li Wenzhao, while the Xuan army captured Huang Wenjin. As for Gao Yongkuan and the others, because they want to exchange it for Xuanjun's own Forrest, they haven't been counted.

The Taiping army that surrendered in Qingpu totaled more than 4,000 people. Ding Shijie, in accordance with Guan Zhuofan's tenet of "letting go of the generals but not letting go of the troops", sent a total of six puppet kings, heavenly generals, and Tianyi under Gao Yongkuan, as well as several division commanders and brigade commanders, to the small school field in the city for them to live in, and allowed to bring 20 personal soldiers to serve, but none of them were disarmed, and Jiang De sent a battalion of people to monitor them around. The soldiers who surrendered were pulled out of the city for reorganization, and together with the Taiping troops captured at Nanqiao and Qingshuikeng, they were strictly screened to replenish and expand the number of soldiers of the Xuan army.

Although there were some ups and downs in this battle, for Guan Zhuofan, it was not at all as fearful and alarming as in the first battle of Shanghai, which shows that the Xuan army has gone from "forming an army" to "forming", and then to the current "maturity".

But it's not the time to celebrate. Guan Zhuofan was in the Sijing camp, in addition to being busy deciding on various aftermath matters and dealing with the documents sent by the Yamen of the Domain, the most important thing was to wait for the reply from Suzhou to see if Forrest and Zhao Jingxian could get it back.

Who knew that the reply had not yet arrived, but a team of Fubiao soldiers from Li Hongzhang's Governor Yamen came.

"What are they coming for?" Guan Zhuofan asked with a frown.

"It was sent by someone who tied it up," Túrin whispered back, "Liu Mingchuan." ”

The Huai Army's "Ming" battalion commander, Liu Mingchuan, a third-grade staff general, was being tied up by five flowers at the moment, kneeling outside Guan Zhuofan's Chinese army tent. The captain of the pro-soldier who sent people came in the account and replied, saying that Liu Mingchuan had been heavily condemned by Li Futai for the great crime of losing Qingpu, and now they were ordered by Futai to tie people up and let Guan Daren send them down.

Guan Zhuofan said in his heart that the ball kicked to Li Hongzhang has now been kicked back. When he brought the person into the big tent to take a look, he really looked aggrieved, and the blood stains on his back were like it, and he saw that Li Hongzhang's military stick was not lightly beaten.

Guan Zhuofan looked at Liu Mingchuan who was kneeling in front of him dejectedly, and the feeling in his heart was a little complicated for a while.

The loss of Qingpu City, Forrest's capture, and the execution of the soldiers of the Xuan Army for the Taiping Army were all caused by his departure from the city and his concealment due to greed for defensive land. But this person has quite a place in history, not only the first general of the Huai Army in the future, but also 20 years later, in the battle of "resisting France and protecting Taiwan", in the case of the sea route being cut off and hanging on an isolated island, he can still lead the army to fight to the death. In this regard, he can be regarded as a hero.

Thinking like this, the anger against him in his heart finally calmed down a lot, and he waved his hand and said, "Untie him." ”

Guan Zhuofan's personal soldiers untied the rope on his body for him, Liu Mingchuan kowtowed, didn't dare to speak, still lay on the ground, waiting for Guan Zhuofan's fall.

"Liu Mazi," Guan Zhuofan said calmly, "Do you know that you are going to kneel here today?" ”

Liu Mingchuan raised his head and glanced at it in amazement-how could this young handsome man call out his nickname when he opened his mouth? Then he lowered his head again and replied, "I know." Lost Qingpu in his humble position, the crime is very great, please punish the marshal! ”

"When it comes to fighting, there are always victories and defeats, even Zhuge Wuhou, six out of Qishan, didn't they all come back? But no matter what, you can't learn from Ma Tan, pretend to be smart, self-righteous, make your own opinions, and do your own thing! Guan Zhuofan had a seizure indecently, and then asked unhurriedly: "You said that you are guilty, please punish me." Tell me, according to military law, how should I be punished? ”

Liu Mingchuan's heart tightened, he hesitated for a long time, gritted his teeth and said, "When ...... When chop! ”

*

(There is a change in the evening)

*(To be continued......)