February 1, 1850, Fan County, Henan. Yang Xiuqing, the eastern king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, rode his horse up the embankment of the Yellow River, and as far as the eye could see, the south of the Yellow River was still covered with snow. The vast plains are rarely inhabited, and the few villages that come into view are completely deserted. Only small groups of cavalry galloped back and forth on the plains, and they were all Taiping Army horse troops adapted from the Twist Army.

"The whereabouts of my army must be completely kept secret, this is the responsibility of your horse army, and you must completely cut off the surrounding battlefield!" Yang Xiuqing ordered loudly to Zhang Lexing, the king of Yu beside him.

Under the embankment of the Yellow River, the main force of the army marched mightily like several long dragons walking side by side, with magnificent momentum and blood boiling. Coupled with the news that Zhu Jishi had personally led about 25,000 or 6,000 guards and set off from Guide to aid Jinan, Yang Xiuqing almost couldn't help but look up to the sky and howl.

According to the information originally obtained, Yang Xiuqing knew that the army led by Zhu Jishi only had 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers, and although the troops were divided, there were at least 40,000 people led by Zhu Jishi. If all of them go to Jinan to help, then Yang Xiuqing's troops can form a 5-to-1 superior force. And now, Zhu Jishi only dispatched with more than 25,000 people, which means that if Yang Xiuqing's department can find Zhu Jishi to fight a decisive battle, it will be an 8-to-1 military advantage! And Yang Xiuqing now has one more option, that is, to directly go south to raid Guide Mansion, first destroy the more than 10,000 people left by Zhu Jishi in Guide Mansion, and then join Wei Changhui in Kaifeng to attack the Ming Army's West Road Military Order that has advanced to the Xuchang area. As long as these two parts are defeated, Zhu Jishi's Northern Expedition will be considered defeated!

This battle is very winning!

According to intelligence, the army that went to aid Jinan carried Zhu Jishi's red-bottom regimental dragon flag. The march route was also relatively southern. Go to Shan County, Jinxiang County to Rencheng County. It seems that he is preparing to turn back from Qufu to the north. In Yang Xiuqing's view, such a marching route away from the Yellow River just proves that Zhu Jishi is in the army - he went to Jinan to personally preside over the battle with the Taiping army!

"Order, the army must speed up its movements, and it must cross (in fact, it is over the ice) the Yellow River within 2 hours!"

Even if he felt that he had a great chance of winning, Yang Xiuqing still had a trace of worry, the army he led was too large, and it was almost impossible to hide his traces for a long time. Once the whereabouts of the army are exposed, both Zhu Jishi and the Ming army of Guide may leave in a hurry. They are fewer in number. The mobility is far higher than Yang Xiuqing's army of 200,000.

"His Royal Highness the King of the East, it is better for the last general to lead the cavalry first, so as to entangle the head of the Zhu demon." Zhang Lexing, the king of Yu, suggested.

"It's okay, but it's not to entangle the Zhu Demon, but to surround the city of Guide Mansion!" Yang Xiuqing frowned and said, "Zhu Demon is alive, Guide Mansion is dead, it is rumored that Zhu Demon also has a team of elite cavalry around him, once your horse team approaches, he will find out, or surround Defu City." Other than that. Leave another horse army to cover the whole army. ”

The city of Guide is about 300 miles south of Fan County, and the infantry can reach it in five days. The horse change team will take 3 days at most, and Yang Xiuqing estimates that the 20,000 people led by Zhu Jishi should have arrived in Jinan by then, and it will definitely be too late to return to help. The other route of the Western Route Army should be near Xuchang, more than 300 miles away from the city of Guide, if they want to aid Guide, then just come to a siege point to send reinforcements, and the two route soldiers will be broken together.

"The last general commands." Zhang Lexing immediately surrendered his hand, and rode his horse down the embankment to mobilize the cavalry of his headquarters to go south.

When Yang Xiuqing's army was preparing to cross the Yellow River, Lin Zexu and Miao Peilin, who were far away in Jinan, Shandong, were convening a military meeting to discuss the matter of war defense.

Another Taiping army with the banner of Yang Xiuqing did not cross the Yellow River, but set up a company camp on the north bank of the Yellow River.

In the meeting hall of the Yamen of the Shandong Governor in Jinan City, Lin Zexu, who had changed into a Ming Dynasty-style official robe, sat behind the public case and looked at Miao Peilin: "Yusan, how about we test it?" ”

Miao Peilin smiled: "But according to Mu Weng's orders." ”

Lin Zexu said: "Then the old man will be the master once, Yusan, and Disheng will listen to the order." ”

"The subordinates are here." Miao Peilin and Zeng Guofan glanced at each other and stood up. They all have the name of a governor now, but Lin Zexu is "sick and on leave", and he was only awarded the title of Duke of Minhou County. However, he was able to order Miao and Zeng to support the platform.

"The two of you each order 30,000 soldiers and horses to challenge in front of the Taiping military camp, if they don't dare to fight, then most of them will be a false soldier all the way." Old man Lin stroked his beard and thought for a while, and said, "If it is a virtual soldier, then where is Yang Xiuqing's actual soldier?" ”

Miao Peilin said: "Maybe it's on the North Road, right?" The Northern Route Army only had 26,000 soldiers, and if Yang Xiuqing concentrated ten times as many troops, he was still expected to defeat them. ”

"Maybe it's the West Road?" Lin Zexu said with a smile, "The emperor is coming to us, and he only brought a military servant, so we'd better send someone to pick it up." He looked at his son, "Jing Feng, you also order 30,000 soldiers and horses, if the East King on the north bank of the Yellow River does not dare to fight, then you should go and pick up the emperor." ”

Almost at the same time, Henan Guide to Germany, Luo Zenan held the city wall in his hand and looked at the snow-covered plain outside the city. Two infantry divisions of the Sixth Army had already left the city, digging trenches outside the city of Guide, building fortifications, and preparing for battle, and there were four huge spherical objects on the flat ground next to the moat, and a few foreign devils were fiddling around.

He asked Ren Yijiang, the commander of the Sixth Army beside him, in a low voice: "Yichen, are we scattering our troops too far?" ”

Ren Yijiang nodded: "It is indeed very dispersed, the Third Army went to Xuchang, and the Guards and cavalry went to Jinan...... If Yang Xiuqing wants to stop the Yellow River, then he is probably the same as Daoguang, ready to defend Beijing, right? ”

"He's coming, can you hold the Guidehouse? Our baggage, grain and grass are all in return, and if we lose it, we can't fight this battle. ”

Ren Yijiang smiled: "How can you not hold it?" Now we are afraid that they will not come, as long as they come, we are not afraid that we will not be able to win...... Now it is not a question of whether you can hold it, but whether you can leave Yang Xiuqing behind. ”

"By the way, what are those four round things?" Luo Zenan asked with some curiosity, pointing to the four big round balls.

"Those four?" Ren Yijiang pretended to smile mysteriously, "That's a magic weapon to deal with God Yang." Just a sacrifice comes out. God Yang is not working. ”

"Deal with ...... Yang God's magic weapon!? How can there be foreigners? Luo Zenan was stunned and stunned.

"This is a foreign magic weapon. Of course, it has to be operated by foreigners. Ren Yijiang said with a smile.

In the brigade of the Jinyi Guards led by Zhu Jishi, there are also four identical "magic weapons", but they are not round, but folded and mounted on several four-wheeled carriages.

"Aren't they just a few hot air balloons?" Jérôme. Peel was quite dismissive, "This thing is useless, and it is very troublesome to use for reconnaissance, and if you are not careful, the wind will blow away." ”

"It can be used to scare people, Peel. Did Ali Pasha use this to scare the Ottoman army? "Zhu Jishi rode on a horse Maria. Clementina gave him an Arabian horse, and asked Old Peel with a smile. This old man was in Egypt in the early years of Pasha Muhammad. He served as an advisor in the Ali army and helped the Egyptians train a new army.

Old Peel smiled and said, "Your Majesty my Emperor, do you think the Turks are fools who have no knowledge? Turkey is also half a European country, and there are Prussian military advisers in the Turkish army. ”

At that time, the Turkish Army hired Prussian military advisers, headed by Helmut. Cal. Bernhardt. Feng. Moltke was the Moltke who later shined in the Franco-Prussian War, but in the Middle East, he was a defeated general under the French military advisers of Ali Pasha, and the gold medal fighter left by the emperor was not old at that time.

Zhu Jishi waved his hand and said, "Our enemies are all fools who have no knowledge. He pointed to his head. Old Peel, the reason why they were able to defeat the Manchus. It is because of this that they believe that Yang Xiuqing is a god, believe that they have God's blessing, and if they are defeated here, they are no different from the Eight Banners, and may be slightly inferior. ”

Chapter 515: The Magic of the Heavenly Dynasty Acres System

To the south! To the south!

In this cold and biting night, every road from Fan County, Henan Province to the south was crowded with large groups of Taiping troops, and people shouted and neighed, so it was not lively. On the vast plains on the south bank of the Yellow River. More than 100,000 troops are marching desperately with heavy artillery, desperately trying to reach the city of Guide within the time set by Yang Xiuqing. According to the news from Xizuo and Tanma, there seems to be an obvious omission in the deployment of the Ming army's Western Route Army, and the limited forces were divided into three parts, which were hundreds of miles away from each other. Whether the Ming army was intentional or genuinely negligent, it gave Yang Xiuqing an excellent opportunity to attack. The military commander of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom keenly seized this opportunity and commanded his 200,000 main forces to launch a surprise attack on Guide Mansion!

Yang Xiuqing's main force is now divided into two roads, front and back, and is rushing towards Guide. The road ahead is the four Taiping cavalry corps commanded by Zhang Lexing, the king of Yu, with nearly 50,000 horses, sparing no horsepower, day and night to rush to Guide Mansion. Their mission was to surround the city of Guide, control the passages on all sides of the city, and prevent the Ming army in the city from escaping.

The rear team is the main force led by Yang Xiuqing, including the third army on the right in the east hall, the fourth army on the right in front and behind the foreign guns, the four Tuntian troops and the rear army of the horse army, more than 150,000 people, carrying a large number of baggage and artillery, rushing forward mightily.

Yang Xiuqing, the eastern king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, rode on a Mongolian horse and advanced with his Chinese army, escorted by the guards of the camp. His Royal Highness the Eastern King, who has the power to "fax the holy decree on behalf of the Heavenly Father", played a trick possessed by the Heavenly Father at dinner, and declared through the mouth of the Heavenly Father: This battle will be won, and the pig demon will die! However, he could still clearly feel that the morale of the three armies of the Dongdian Army and the four armies of the foreign guns under his command could not be raised at all! The spirit of being single-minded and determined to win before the battle of Huaxian County has disappeared without a trace, whether it is the old brothers from Guangxi or the new brothers who joined the Central Plains, they are all a little sluggish.

For the Hakka brothers of the Heavenly Kingdom, Zhu Jishi's name is not unfamiliar, they all know that the Taiping Army of Lu Dao had a lot of help from Zhu Angel when he started, and Zhu Angel is the son-in-law of the Heavenly Father, the sister-in-law of the King of Heaven and the King of the East, and they are simply a family! And until now, only the East King issued an order to crusade against Zhu Jishi in the name of the Heavenly Father, and the Heavenly King did not speak at all, and this war between Zhu Jishi and Yang Xiuqing has a bit of a "family dispute" meaning. This kind of thing can be solved behind closed doors in your own home, and the people below will fight to the death.

And the reason why these old brothers can't lift their spirits is the serious injustice of the distribution of benefits!

In addition to a high-ranking prince and general who got a beautiful house, gold and silver treasures, what did the brothers who were born and died below get? Eat full? Meat for three meals?

It was not before the Kaneda Uprising. A bunch of poor men who have no knowledge. When you have a full mouth, you are satisfied. The current Heavenly Brothers have opened their eyes. Seeing the market, the demand for material wealth is getting higher and higher, and the system and productivity of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom cannot satisfy them, so they can only rely on religion again and again to confuse, and it is not surprising that everyone's motivation is getting lower and lower.

However, not all the troops are morale enemies, and the four officers and soldiers of the Tuntian Army, who are at most elite and composed of the victims of the Yellow Flood Area, and are used by Yang Xiuqing as transport troops and reserve soldiers, still maintain relatively strong morale!

The atmospheric voices of the grassroots officers with Shandong and Henan accents came from the marching column of the Tuntian Fourth Army behind Yang Xiuqing.

"We're going to kill the pig demon. Defend the kingdom of heaven! Heaven gives us food, ploughs the land, and feeds us, and she is our grandmother! Now the pig demon head wants to kill our grandmother! Let's work hard, we must rush to Guide Mansion at noon tomorrow, and we can't let the pig demon head run away! ”

"Yes, you can't run away from the pig demon head!"

"Fight to Guide Mansion and capture the pig demon head alive!"

"Kill the pig demon and protect the kingdom of heaven!"

"Protect the kingdom of heaven, protect the homeland ......"

In the queue, the echo and voice of the accent of Lubei and Yudong sounded. The people who made these voices were the victims of the original Yellow Flood Zone. Their homes had been flooded by the release of the Sangha Grinqin, if it had not been for the Kingdom of Heaven to take them in. Give them the good fields and soil around Beijing, and now they probably even rot their bones. Although they did not properly cultivate the land allocated by Heaven because of the existence of the "surplus grain collection system", they still got a good harvest last autumn - a good harvest that belonged to their families and individuals, and they really saved enough food.

Dividing the land and having enough to eat is probably the most tangible dream of the Chinese peasants for thousands of years, and now that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has helped them realize their dream, they are naturally the staunchest supporters of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement.

Therefore, when the king of the east ordered the recruitment of standing soldiers in the Eighth Army of Tuntian, all the young and strong men under the Eighth Army enthusiastically signed up, and the 100,000 male soldiers were assembled almost within a few days - of course, the reason for this high efficiency is also related to the system of the "Eighth Army of Tuntian" that is both military and civilian. The 2 million people were organized into 8 corps, 40 divisions, 200 brigades, 1,000 "pawns" and 5,000 corps, which were directly controlled by Yang Xiuqing's Dongdian Military Department (there were six troops in the East Palace). These 8 armies maintain a semi-full-time standing army of about 100,000 people on weekdays, and as long as the king of the east gives an order, they can be dispatched at any time, and then they can also carry out the second and third mobilizations and recruit the second and third 100,000 troops!

"This is all the credit of the "Heavenly Dynasty Tianmu System"!" Yang Xiuqing, who was riding on a horse, whispered to himself, "It's a pity that this "Heavenly Dynasty Tianmu System" was only done around Beijing, otherwise why worry about not defeating Zhu Jishi?" ”

……

Guide Mansion, the Taiping Army Brigade is heading south, and the news that it is coming to Guide Mansion has arrived! It was sent by a few "horseback gentry" dressed in coarse cloth and with scruffy faces all over their beards. This place in eastern Henan is not the south of the Yangtze River, there are few gentry in the Shili heirloom, and there are a lot of bully landlords who like to dance with knives and sticks. Don't think that only the peasants facing the loess with their backs to the sky will rebel against the imperial court, the landlords here in Huaibei, Henan Province will still resist grain and donate money (Cao Fu), and from time to time they will build together with all kinds of cult bandits to be a disaster, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they are half-gentry and half-bandits!

However, at the moment, these "bandits" are all on Zhu Ming's side against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, because they have been fighting with the local armed forces of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom for more than a year, and they have all fought a deep hatred of blood.

"Master, the long-haired horse team has come, and there are tens of thousands of them, and it is less than 100 miles away from Guide City......

"They are all under the banner of King Yu, they should be Zhang Laole's twist bandits, these twist bandits are the most hateful, we will return to the German Mansion and suffer again!"

The two "bandit gentry" lay on top of the public court, and reported all the news they had found to Ren Yijiang and Luo Zenan.

Luo Zenan was still like that, shaking the paper fan with an expression of bamboo in his chest, and waved his hand to let the two "bandits" go down to receive the reward. Then he said to Ren Yijiang with a little worry: "It's really fast!" Yichen, it seems that the fortifications outside the city have not been completed in time......"

Ren Yijiang said with a smile: "The fortifications are almost like this, the cannon is on the city wall, and the periphery is covered with barbed wire, wooden stakes and a trench, and it can be completed before noon tomorrow, and that's how Ning Jin did it." He paused and said, "And the people who came over are all horse teams, they are just the vanguard troops, they will not attack the city, Yang Xiuqing's brigade will be good if they can arrive the day after tomorrow, enough for us to arm, in fact, we will not suffer too much if we don't deploy defenses, and pull them outside the city to fight in the field." ”

He took a map and spread it out on the public case, knocked on it in Xuchang Mansion and Jining Mansion and said, "Now it's up to the emperor and the Third Army to trap the Taiping Army before Yang Xiuqing runs away...... There is no suspense in winning this battle, even if we rely on our 6th Army alone, we can win it! The question now is whether Yang Xiuqing can be solved in the First Battle of Guide! This is the strength of the feet, the fast horse of the report has been sent out, tomorrow morning should be able to Xuchang and Jining, the distance to return to the aid is more than 300 miles, at least 3 days to walk! It's been up to us to act like this for the past 3 days. (To be continued......)