The clever monk and the prince expected a very critical point, that is, the top and bottom of the Wu army were indeed a little frightened by the combat readiness of the capital. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Before the soldiers came to the city, the decision-making level of the Wu army headed by Zeng Guoquan was most afraid that the defenders of the capital would close the city and defend the city, forcing the soldiers of the Wu army into a hard battle, and once the Wu army did not go well, not only would the troops be difficult to maintain, but the main force of the Qing army under the command of Luo Bingzhang and the Shandong Qing army under Luo Bingzhang would definitely come to the rescue of the capital.

As long as the Qing army goes out of the city, even if it is to fight a defensive battle in the camp fortifications, then the Zeng Guoquan army, which carries a certain amount of heavy weapons, is still sure to break the enemy and inflict heavy damage on the defenders of the capital in the field battle, greatly reducing the pressure during the siege.

How many defenders are still in the capital, Wu Jun has not figured out the details before, but it can also be determined that it is more than 20,000 and less than 30,000. Excluding the army that had to protect the inner city, the palace city, the Forbidden City, and the royal gardens outside the city, Zeng Guoquan was basically certain that the Qing army that could be used to defend the outer city and mobile operations would never exceed 12,000 people, so Zeng Guoquan also expected that the Qing army would definitely take the initiative to abandon the Fengtai camp and retreat to the city to hold on, and the possibility of continuing to garrison Fengtai and the defenders of the capital to form horns against each other was very small.

Under this premise, when Ding Ruchang, who served as the vanguard, came to report that the Qing army had established a large-scale camp outside the Yongding Gate, and tens of thousands of heavy soldiers were stationed, Zeng Guoquan and Zhu Hongzhang and other Wu generals were of course taken aback, and they all exclaimed, "How is it possible? The army of the rebellious party fell from the sky? How could there be so many rebel troops stationed outside Beijing? ”

"Could it be a local group exercise?" Zhang Zhidong was relatively calm, and quickly asked a few key questions, asking: "What kind of banner is the rebel army outside the city flying?" What is the name on the handsome flag? How is the equipment? ”

"Hui Zhang, the rebel army outside the city, under the banner of the Tiger God Battalion, the commander is Monk Greenqin, one of the seven leaders of the rebel party, the equipment is very good, the contradiction between swords and guns is the equipment of the main force of the rebel party, and it is also equipped with bird guns, carrying guns and an unknown number of foreign guns, as well as at least thirty or more artillery." The messenger sent by Ding Ruchang from the front to report the news replied truthfully.

It's not that the traverser hasn't heard of the famous name of the Tiger God Camp, Zeng Guoquan and Zhang Zhidong and others certainly don't know what this name means. However, when I heard that the commander of the Qing army outside the city was actually the famous Qing Dynasty monk Greenqin Monk Wangye, who had been strongly advocated by the Manchu court for many years, and heard that the Tiger God Battalion was actually equipped with the weapons of the main force of the Qing army, Zeng Guoquan and Zhang Zhidong and others were inevitably a little frightened, and they all said secretly: "Could it be that this time the chicken is not eaten and the rice is kicked to the iron plate?" ”

"Nine Marshal, there's another strange thing." Messenger Ding Ruchang also reported: "Although the rebel army of the Tiger God Battalion is very well equipped, their uniforms are not uniform, some are new and some are old, and the colors are not the same, and their military shoes do not seem to be the same, but they are too far apart to be confirmed. ”

Zeng Guoquan and Zhang Zhidong glanced at each other suspiciously, and they all didn't understand the reason - how could the weapons and equipment be so good, but the most basic military clothes and shoes were disorganized? Confused, Zeng Guoquan could only instruct the messenger: "Go back and tell General Ding, let him go all out to find out the way of the Chaodang Tiger God Camp, and before the main force of our infantry arrives at the city, you must not attack the Chaodang camp without authorization." ”

The messenger promised and galloped back on a fast horse, while Zeng Guoquan and Wu Junzhong would continue to lead the main force of infantry to rush north, and their faces were more severe than the other during the march, and they were all extremely worried about the mysterious tiger god camp stationed outside the Yongding Gate. Zhang Zhidong, who had spent a lot of time in the capital, was also puzzled, and said secretly: "How could so many troops suddenly come out?" With the size of the population of the capital, it is not difficult to quickly recruit tens of thousands of people to form a temporary army, but how can a temporarily formed army be equipped with the weapons of the main soldiers? ”

Under the rapid march all the way, the main force of the Wu army quickly rushed to the outside of Beijing, and saw the Chinese capital that had been shamelessly entrenched for more than 200 years by the Eight Banners of the Mites. Zeng Guoquan, Zhu Hongzhang, Zhang Shiri and other generals of the Wu army were also in mixed moods, not only lamenting that they would come to the capital for the first time in such a way, but also paying extremely vigilant attention to the Tiger God Camp camp stationed outside the Yongding Gate - if this big nail is not removed, it will be difficult for the soldiers of the Wu army to touch the city wall of Beijing!

The main force of the cavalry of the Wu army led by Ding Ruchang was stationed in the Huayue Temple southeast of Yongding Gate, and Zeng Guoquan also led the army directly to the Huayue Temple to meet Ding Ruchang. However, Zeng Guoquan was very surprised, as soon as they met, Ding Ruchang laughed and said: "Jiu Shuai, I have inquired clearly, the Tiger God Battalion of the Chaotic Party in front of it was formed by the Eight Banners family slaves temporarily recruited by the chaotic party in the capital, or was it just formed into an army yesterday evening, a pure rabble, and it is not vulnerable at all!" ”

"Eight Banners House Slave?!"

The reactions of Zeng Guoquan, Zhu Hongzhang, Ni Gui and others, who were born as scholars, surprised Ding Ruchang, and they all changed their faces and exclaimed together, and Zhang Zhidong, who had the best relationship with Ding Ruchang and was also full of poetry and books, asked again: "Brother Cizhang, are you sure that the Tiger God Camp was formed by the Eight Banners family slaves?" ”

"Confirm, I asked countless locals in the capital, and they all said so." Ding Ruchang replied truthfully, and asked suspiciously, "What?" Are Eight Banners slaves scary? ”

In order not to let Ding Ruchang underestimate the enemy, Zhang Zhidong still did a science popularization to Ding Ruchang, who had only studied private school for three years, and introduced the story of the Manchu butcher Tuhai who took the Eight Banners slaves as his army and broke the Chahar cavalry in only 12 days, and also clearly told Ding Ruchang that the Manchu Qing court issued an edict on the first day, and the next morning Tuhai made the Eight Banners slaves into an army. As a result, Ding Ruchang, who was also leading the cavalry, was of course taken aback, and said, "The Eight Banners slaves are so powerful? Drafted into the army the day before, and able to join the army the next day? ”

"It's true." Zhang Zhidong replied truthfully, and said worriedly: "Although the Eight Banners armor soldiers are no longer good now, their house slaves are different, they are not pampered and raised, and they are closely related to the life and death of the Eight Banners Manchurians, and working hard for the chaotic party is equivalent to working hard for themselves, so we had better not despise the Tiger God Battalion in front, otherwise we may suffer a big loss." ”

Ding Ruchang was even more speechless, and scholars and generals such as Zeng Guoquan, Zhu Hongzhang, and Zhang Shiri had already nodded in agreement, and they all did not dare to repeat the mistakes of Burn, the king of Chahar during the time of Kang Mazi. As a result, it happened that at this time, the envoy of the monk came to contact Zeng Guoquan with a white flag.

After handing over the battle book in a big way, the envoy was still at the request of the monk and the prince, and deliberately said in an arrogant tone: "General Zeng, the prince originally planned to have a direct decisive battle with you today, but I am worried that you will be tired from afar, and it will not be glorious to win, so let the world mutter that our monk and the tiger god camp are not martial, so I will give you a night of rest to recuperate, and tomorrow morning at three o'clock, we will send troops to fight a decisive battle." ”

Zeng Guoquan was silent, but asked someone to take the envoy down temporarily to wait for a reply, and then asked the generals under his command: "What do you think about the matter of Monk Greenqin asking us to fight a decisive battle?" Is there fraud in it? ”

Even the resourceful Zhang Zhidong didn't dare to say anything - because he really couldn't see through the purpose of the monk's move, the general Wu Junzhong, who was generally steady, naturally frowned, and at the end, Zhu Hongzhang also suggested: "Nine Shuai, why don't you agree?" The first is to let our army take a little rest, familiarize ourselves with the surrounding situation, and probe whether there are any ambushes of the rebellious party hidden outside the city, and the second is to find out the reality of the Tiger God Camp in tomorrow's battle, and then make a decision before it is too late. ”

Seeing that Ni Gui, Zhang Shiri and other generals nodded one after another, Ding Ruchang suddenly became anxious and hurriedly said, "Jiu Shuai, you can't waste any more time?" The reinforcements of the rebellious party must be rushing to the capital day and night, and the Tianjin thieves and Baoding Mansion thieves who were defeated by us must also be following behind, so can we waste another day and launch an attack again? ”

"The enemy situation is unknown, so we have to be cautious." Zeng Guoquan said hesitantly.

"Brother Jizhang, Jiu Shuai, they are right." Zhang Zhidong also said: "The enemy is outnumbered and the enemy's situation is unknown, our army is coming from a long distance, and the old man is already tired, it is best to rest for a day, and it is not too late to find out the enemy's situation before launching an attack." ”

"But if we waste today's time, the reinforcements of the thieves may arrive tomorrow?" Ding Ruchang asked: "Even if the main force of the rebels led by Guan Wen can definitely not arrive tomorrow, but the rebellious party reinforcements from Tianjin and Baoding Mansion will be able to arrive tomorrow no matter what?" ”

"It's okay, when the time comes, just bother Brother Jizhang to meet the enemy in the field, and the nine marshals will take the main force of the infantry to face the Tiger God Battalion head-on." Zhang Zhidong replied.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhidong, who had the best relationship, did not agree with him, of course Ding Ruchang was a little angry, and said: "The enemy situation is unknown, so don't you understand if you start fighting directly?" I don't believe it, a bunch of house-born minions who have never been on the battlefield are really so powerful! If you don't dare to fight, I'll fight! I'll take the cavalry on! ”

"Brother Cizhang, don't talk angry." Zhang Zhidong persuaded: "The Tiger God Battalion is hiding behind the camp fortifications, you are a cavalry, how can you fight?" ”

"I'm hitting head-on!" Ding Ruchang pointed to the Tiger God Camp in front of him and said angrily: "See? The door of the camp of the rebellious party is wide open, why can't I hit it head-on? ”

Ding Ruchang reminded that Zhang Zhidong, Zeng Guoquan and others found out that after the monk sent the envoy out of the camp, he did not close the camp gate again, and the camp gate is still in a state of wide open - of course, it can be closed at any time. Therefore, Zeng Guoquan, Zhang Zhidong and others still shook their heads, and they all advised Ding Ruchang to calm down and not to be impulsive, "Chapter 2, don't be impulsive, although the enemy's gate is wide open, but if you want to close it, it is time to blink an eye, your cavalry can't attack the fortification, what is the effect of a frontal impact?" ”

It's good to say that Ding Ruchang was finally held down, Zeng Guoquan then asked people to bring the envoy of the monk and the prince, and officially agreed to the request of the monk and the prince to fight the next day, and the monk and the envoy who successfully completed the task was even more proud when he heard it, and also released a wild sentence, "General Zeng rest assured, our monk and prince are merciful, and we will definitely leave you a whole corpse tomorrow." ”

I didn't expect the envoy of the monk to be so arrogant, Zeng Guoquan was naturally a little angry when he heard it, and Li Chendian, a subordinate who respected Zeng Guoquan very much, was even more angry when he heard it, so he simply stepped forward and grabbed the monk and king's envoy, raised his hand and gave him two slaps, and asked him what kind of thing he was, and dared to be rude to Zeng Guoquan?

"Xiangyun, the two countries are fighting, and they don't come to make it."

Zeng Guoquan opened his mouth to remind, but Li Chendian replied: "Don't worry, Jiu Shuai, I know that I can't kill the messenger, but I can't cheapen this rabbit cub who doesn't know the height of the sky!" ”

Saying that, Li Chendian ignored everyone's dissuasion, and insisted on pushing the envoy of the monk and king to his own soldiers, telling the soldiers to follow him, and said to Zeng Guoquan while getting on the horse: "Nine marshals, come and don't be rude!" The envoy of the chaotic party is so rude, if the last general does not go to the camp of the chaotic party and shout a few words to greet the ancestor of his monk Lingqin, wouldn't he let the rebel army look down on our rebel army? ”

After that, Li Chendian only led his own personal army and went directly out of the battle, escorting the monk and the king's envoy straight to the Tiger God Camp camp, Zeng Guoquan was afraid that love would be lost, so he hurriedly ordered Zhu Hongzhang to lead a thousand troops to follow, so as to respond at any time.

…………

At the same time, in the camp of the Tiger God Camp, I saw in the telescope the ugliness of the main force of Wu Jun's foot cavalry shrinking in the area of Huayue Temple, of course, our monk and prince are laughing how happy they are, and the Qing generals such as Alhe next to him are also sycophants, praising the monk and the prince's Weizhen Huanyu, which is unparalleled in the world, Zeng Guoquan's clown jumps off the beam, and he can be destroyed with a snap of his fingers.

When the sycophant was being photographed comfortably, Li Chendian and his personal army suddenly appeared in the field of vision of the monk prince, and when the monk and the prince hurriedly raised the binoculars to take a closer look, before he could see clearly that Li Chendian was actually coming with a gallant messenger specially selected by him, he immediately saw the Wu army infantry brigade striding out of the battle!

Decisively put down the binoculars, and the monk's face suddenly became majestic and resolute, and he shouted: "Wu thieves are coming to attack the camp!" Tell the whole battalion to prepare for battle! Give this king a head-on attack on Wu's rebel thief army! ”

The order was quickly conveyed, and the soldiers of the Tiger God Battalion, who had already entered the state of battle, were even more nervous, and while hurriedly closing the camp gate and raising their muskets, countless people were so nervous that their hearts were about to jump out of their chests, and more soldiers of the Tiger God Battalion were so nervous that they forgot to breathe directly, and their hands holding guns were almost trembling.

At the same time, Li Chendian, who was striding over in a huff, had already pulled out the pistol on his waist, and after rushing into the one-mile range of the Tiger God Camp, he also raised his hand to the sky is shot, intending to use the sound of the gun to warn the enemy in front of him in order to shout and insult the monk Greenqin to seek justice for Zeng Guoquan. However......

"Bang!"

However, what Li Chendian never dreamed of was that he just fired a shot at the sky casually, and the Tiger God Camp camp outside the Li Xu was like a nest, and suddenly gunshots, cannons and shouts made a big noise, countless muskets and more than 30 artillery pieces opened fire one after another, and the smoke of gunpowder was filled, and the lead sand bullets hit the open space in front of the camp with snowflakes everywhere, and there were even shells bouncing on the snow, which was like opening porridge. -- Of course, the shells were very outrageous, and the bullets naturally did not hurt even more than half a single hair of Li Chendian and the others outside the room.

"What's wrong?"

When Li Chendian was dumbfounded, something that made him even more dumbfounded happened again, just after the first shot and the first shot, many soldiers of the Tiger God Battalion guarding behind the fence sheep and horse wall had already begun to flee backwards for their lives, the banners were crooked, and countless miserable and panicked shouts came directly, "Wu thief is here!" Run! Wu thief is here! Kill is coming! Run, brethren! ”

Even more dumbfounded than Li Chendian were Zeng Guoquan, Zhang Shiri, Zhang Zhidong and others, seeing in the telescope Li Chendian's spectacle of making the Tiger God Camp mess up on its own with only one shot, Zeng Guoquan's mouth directly opened and dislocated, and the eyeballs of Zhang Shiri and Zhang Zhidong and others almost popped out of their sockets, although Ding Ruchang, who didn't believe in the rumors of the heroic and invincible slaves of the Eight Banners, calmed down, he couldn't help but exclaim, "My God! This is the Tiger God Battalion?! ”