The naval divisions of Xiachuan Island under the command of Linghai general Chen Qice finally appeared on the Tan River west of Xinhui at noon.

The sudden appearance of hundreds of warships on the river shook the Taiping army in Xinhui City and the Qing army outside the city.

The Guangdong sailors had just been burned a few days ago, and even the blind could see that the fleet with the red flag was by no means the sailors of the Qing Dynasty.

The green battalion stationed on the riverside hurriedly came to report, saying that the fleet on the river was under the banner of General Nanming Linghai.

For the generals of the Southern Ming Dynasty who insisted on resisting the Qing Dynasty in Guangdong, the Qing army had a detailed investigation, and the Linghai general Chen Qice was a strong team of the Ming army in Guangdong. If Li Dingguo hadn't withdrawn from the army, I am afraid that today's Guangdong would have become the world of the Ming army. Therefore, when they heard that the fleet on the river was a sailor under the command of Chen Qice, all the generals of the Qing army were heartbroken, and the secret way was not good.

The battle of Xinhui has been carried out to this day, the Qing army is already at the end of the crossbow, and the cut off of grain and grass not only makes the follow-up weak, but also worries about the collapse of the whole army. At present, the prince of Pingnan is not worried about whether to attack the city, but how to safely withdraw the soldiers and horses to Guangzhou safely under the pursuit of the Ming army!

Although the Ming army's naval division did not attack the Qing army on the shore since it appeared on the river, let alone carried out any artillery bombardment, the hundreds of warships lined up on the river gave the Qing army on the shore an invisible huge pressure, coupled with the unyielding oath of the Taiping army in Xinhui City, at this moment the Qing army had no will to fight, and everyone thought of retreating

At the head of Xinhui City, looking at the fleet of sailors lined up across the river, Zhou Shixiang was also puzzled, and he didn't know who led this sailor division in the Ming army. And whether it is to support the new club? But confusion is confusion, the appearance of the Jiangshang Ming Army Naval Division still made Zhou Shixiang and his subordinates excited, the sky lived up to its wishes, held on for so long, and finally there were reinforcements coming!

Now it depends on the next move of the water division and the reaction of the Qing army, if the water division on the river sends troops to land and attack the Qing army, Zhou Shixiang will never sit back and watch in the city, he is ready to lead his troops out of the city to meet the water division. Success or failure in this move, this sudden emergence of the Ming army is the Taiping army's last hope for victory!

On the Tan River, the white-haired veteran Chen Qice suppressed a group of generals who were eager to fight. The ships were only ordered to be vigilant and closely monitor the movements of the Qing troops on the shore.

forcibly suppressed a group of subordinates who asked for battle, and did not send troops to land on the river, Chen Qice was also forced to do so. First, his troops set out from Shangxiachuan Island and sailed for several days, most of the soldiers on board were tired, and the hasty landing may not have miraculous results; Second, the Qing army camp on the shore was built under siege of the city, and the layers of defense lines were connected to each other, and there were no obvious flaws. I don't know where to start; Third, the officers and men of the Navy Division can fight in water, but not on foot. Therefore, before finding out the reality of the Qing army and getting in touch with the Taiping army in the city, Chen Qice did not dare to send troops to land, otherwise the soldiers and horses that went ashore would be repelled by the Qing army. Then this trip to reinforce Xinhui can only end in failure, which is not the ending he wants.

Although Qi Hao was also anxious in his heart, he hoped that Chen Qice could immediately give him a soldier to go ashore and fight in the city, but he also knew what the veteran was worried about. Therefore, he could only press the restless heart, and had no choice but to wait and see the movements of the Qing army.

When ordering the fleet to monitor the movements of the Qing army, Chen Qice ordered the partial general Zheng Chengkui to lead more than 30 warships along the river. On the one hand, he investigated the reality of the Qing army in Jiangmen, and on the other hand, he began to send people ashore to raise grain and grass. This time when entering Tanjiang, Chen's sailors only prepared food for ten days, and the demand for food was as urgent as the Taiping army in Xinhui City and the Qing army outside the city

Shang Zhixin, who was worried that the Ming army would go ashore immediately, breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that although the Ming army sailors were powerful, they did not dare to go ashore easily, as long as they did not show their flaws, maybe things could still be done, but the generals were not as optimistic as the prince of Pingnan.

"Your Highness, the reinforcements of the Ming army have arrived, but our army is running out of food and grass, the sergeants are suffering from fighting, and the siege of the city has suffered heavy casualties, and the morale of the army in the camp has been gone, if Your Highness does not decide to withdraw the troops, I am afraid that the whole army will be in danger of annihilation!"

Qin Guocheng didn't care whether he would fall into the fate of Xia Zhifu, so he knelt in front of Shang Zhixin with a "plop", and earnestly asked His Royal Highness the Prince to withdraw his troops immediately.

"The last general also asks His Highness to withdraw his troops immediately!"

The deputy capital of the Pingnan Domain, Shang Zhixin's uncle Shang Keyuan, who has always been reluctant to disagree with his nephew, also stood up and asked to withdraw from the army.

Shang Keyuan's statement made the generals of the Pingnan Domain, who were still hesitating, not wait and see, and they all moved forward and withdrew their troops.

Ban Zhifu also spoke again, at this moment his personal honor and disgrace is nothing, as long as he can persuade the prince to withdraw his troops, as long as the strength of the soldiers and horses under the domain is still there, this Guangdong will still be the world of the Qing Dynasty, and this new society will still belong to the Qing Dynasty sooner or later.

"You guys!"

Although Shang Zhixin was a short-tempered man, he was not a stupid person, knowing that the arrival of the Ming army reinforcements had further demoralized his soldiers and made the Taiping army in Xinhui City invincible, but he could not convince himself to accept the blow of a major defeat in the first army. Therefore, knowing that withdrawing troops is the best choice at the moment, it is extremely difficult to let him open this mouth, especially when he is forced to withdraw by his subordinates, and after he goes back, he will definitely lose his prestige in this life.

This fashion letter is already a big regret, knowing that the Ming army has reinforcements coming, it should follow Ban Zhifu's advice to get off the donkey, so that after going back, it will not be ridiculed by people is to see the Ming army reinforcements and flee. As for this person who will laugh at him, Shang Zhixin believes that his younger brother Shang Zhixiao must be one of them.

His face was gloomy and uncertain, and after struggling in his heart for a long time, Shang Zhixin knew that he couldn't hold on any longer, he took a deep breath helplessly, glanced at a group of generals who asked him to withdraw his troops, and almost blurted out that he agreed to withdraw his troops, but he said angrily: "But when the Zhiming Army Sailor comes, he will scare you like this!" You have been following my father and king out of Liaodong for so many years, how have you ever seen the Ming army and sailors defeat my soldiers! It's good now, one by one, I didn't even see the face of the enemy, but I was frightened, and I wanted to withdraw one by one, so cowardly, wouldn't it make the people of the world laugh at my lack of courage in the Pingnan Domain! ”

Qin Guocheng saw that Shang Zhixin was still talking such nonsense at this time, and couldn't help but shout angrily: "Your Highness, it's not that I'm afraid of that Chen Qice, and it's not that I'm not the enemy of the Jiangshang Water Division, but now our army can't hold on here for more than half a moment, doesn't Your Highness know the truth in the army!" ”

Seeing that Qin Guocheng was also anxious, Shang Keyuan was afraid that Shang Zhixin would also reprimand him angrily like Ban Zhifu, so he hurriedly stepped forward and took over the conversation and said: "Your Highness, victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers, and this time our army may not be defeated, but it is only subject to the lack of food and grass. The minister thought that His Royal Highness might as well withdraw from the army, and wait for the next day to replenish the grain and grass before leading the army to attack Xinhui. This Taiping army is just a rabble, and it is not easy to destroy him, and there is no need to lose soldiers and generals under this fortified city. ”

"Hmm"

Uncle Clan's appearance made Shang Zhi hesitate with confidence, wondering whether to step down, but saw Geng Zhongde, the commander of the Jingnan Domain, suddenly arched his hand to himself, and then said: "If His Royal Highness the Prince of Pingnan is unwilling to withdraw the army, the last general is speechless, but the last general is led by the soldiers and horses of the Jingnan Domain, this time it is just to obey the order of the prince of my family to assist His Royal Highness the Prince to attack Xinhui, and now the army has run out of food, for my Jingnan Domain's soldiers, the last general is determined to lead the troops back to Guangzhou, please don't blame the prince of Pingnan!" ”

"What does Geng Dutong mean by this, is he going to escape from the battle!" Shang Zhixin was furious and scolded: "Geng Dutong didn't think that the soldiers and horses under the command of King Jingnan were not the soldiers and horses of my Qing Dynasty!" ”

Geng Zhongde was not afraid of Shang Zhixin's anger, and said calmly: "The soldiers and horses under the command of the King of Jingnan are naturally the soldiers and horses of the Qing Dynasty, but as far as the last general knows, the imperial court has never decided on the priority of my prince to go south with the king of Pingnan, so whether my Jingnan Domain is going or staying, it is all up to my Jingnan Domain to decide on its own, and the prince of Pingnan can't decide on behalf of my prince to stay!" ”

"Geng Zhongde, you dare!"

Shang Zhixin was so angry that his beard was cocked, and Qin Guocheng, Shang Keyuan and other generals of the Pingnan Domain were also angry. As the generals of the Pingnan Domain, how could they tolerate the people of the Jingnan Domain being so rude to the prince, even though the other party's actions were likely to force the prince to withdraw his troops, but it was still intolerable.

Geng Zhongde was not afraid of the angry eyes of the generals of the Pingnan Domain, and stood with his hands down to look at Shang Zhixin's indescribable openness.

When the situation was deadlocked, someone suddenly coughed lightly, and everyone looked at it, but it was Hu Qili, the governor of the Yamen Governor and the pacesetter.

Hu Qili glanced at the generals of the Pingnan Domain with a little guilt, and then said to Shang Zhixin: "The last general, as the governor of the pacesetter, has been the first in every battle since he went out with His Royal Highness, and never dared to lag behind, but today's situation is really unfavorable to our army, the governor handed over the pacesetter to the commander of the last general, which is the incomparable trust in the last general, so the last general will not dare to live up to the expectations of the governor, and the governor will be buried here, so the last general is also determined to retire, and please forgive your Highness." ”

As soon as the words fell, the generals of the Pingnan Domain were naturally buzzing and indignant. Shang Zhixin was even more angry and laughed, looking at Geng Zhongde and Hu Qili and sneering: "It turns out that Geng Dutong and General Hu Shen have already made up their minds to leave, good, good, very good, since you are leaving, I will let you go in this world, so that people will say that I Shang Zhixin has no courage and no strategy, no human feelings, and I am angry in vain!" After saying that, he threw away regardless of the fact that the generals were still there.

"I'm sorry for you!"

After Shang Zhixin left, Geng Zhongde and Hu Qili bowed their hands to Ban Zhifu and them, and took people away without saying a word, obviously to prepare for the withdrawal of troops.

The generals of the Pingnan Domain, you look at me, I look at you, they are all speechless. Geng Zhongde and Hu Qili left, and the morale of the army was even more shaken, and at this moment, it was impossible for His Royal Highness the Prince to refuse to withdraw his troops. Ban Zhifu and Qin Guocheng looked at each other and pulled the generals together to discuss, but they wanted to forcibly withdraw the army behind His Royal Highness the prince's back.

Youban and Qin, two old ministers who have followed King Pingnan for decades, are in charge, and the generals naturally have no objections, and the withdrawal of troops is decided in a few words. For the sake of insurance, Ban Zhifu and Qin Guocheng went to the prince to pass on the results of the discussion to the generals, and then Ban and Qin forcibly took the prince away. (To be continued.) )