The Jiangbei camp was swept away by the Taiping army within two days, and generals such as Qi Shan, Shengbao, Chen Jinshou, Lei Yixuan, Dexing'a, and Tuo Ming'a finally escaped with their lives. Even if the Taiping army did not have many troops, it was not capable of launching a larger-scale pursuit and annihilation, annihilating more than 8,000 Qing troops and capturing more than 5,000 enemies in two days, and the rest of the Qing army fled one after another.

Chen Jinshou and others will gather thousands of defeated soldiers, escort Qishan to flee to Yangzhou City to hide, and Shengbao, who is also defeated outside Yangzhou City, will lead thousands of soldiers to come. In Yangzhou City, Rong Lu led the troops of his headquarters into the city, he collected the defeated soldiers, strengthened the city defense, and led the defeated retreat into the city together. However, Rong Lu himself had already sent troops to occupy the dangerous places outside Yangzhou, preparing to block the pursuing Taiping army.

It seems to have seen that Yangzhou City has already been garrisoned by Rong Lu, and the pursuing Taiping army has reached the periphery of Yangzhou City and Rong Lu's soldiers and horses have fought a battle and retreated, Chen Jinshou, Shengbao and others who have just entered the city and are in shock, heard that the pursuers were repelled by Rong Lu, and they were greatly relieved.

After settling the soldiers and horses, the generals gathered in the yamen of Yangzhou Mansion to discuss the matter, and after counting the losses, they found that there were less than 20,000 soldiers and horses left in the Jiangbei battalion of more than 40,000 people, and the money, grain, equipment, pots and tents were lost, and many soldiers even fled to Yangzhou empty-handed.

A gloomy cloud shrouded the head of the Qing army generals, Shengbao was even more angry and his face was pale, he was going to raise troops to arrive, so that he could fight a few battles and give the long hair some color to see, but he didn't expect to be able to see the color for the long hair, but he was even taken by the Jiangbei camp, more than half of the soldiers were broken, and the material loss was even more serious.

finally escaped back to Yangzhou, if it weren't for Ronglu leading troops to repel the pursuers, I was afraid that Yangzhou would be taken down by the long-haired thieves, and such a big defeat must find someone to carry this black pot. Thinking of this, Shengbao looked at the generals in the hall with a gloomy face, Qi Shan was old and sick, and it was already time to run out of oil and dry up. It's very inappropriate to take the blame on him again, and his arrival is to prepare to pick up Qi Shan's errand, the day before yesterday, he arrived at the camp and has read Xianfeng's holy decree to Qi Shan, which means that since the day before yesterday, the Jiangbei camp is his biggest, and the responsibility for this defeat cannot be counted on Qi Shan's head.

To bear this big responsibility, this person's weight must be enough, and generals like generals and adjutant generals are not qualified to be at the top of the cylinder. Sheng Bao saw Chen Jinshou and Lei Yiyun with bad intentions, and thought to himself that these two people were qualified. One is the admiral, the other is the envoy, the weight is absolutely enough, and when the camp on the west road was attacked, he also ordered Chen Jinshou to reinforce many times. But the reinforcements did not arrive at all, and the troops retreated after the Sancha River. He also ordered Chen Jinshou to lead troops to respond. The reinforcements did not come, and the sin of this defeat was the greatest. As for Lei Yiyun, he is helping to handle military affairs in the big battalion, and he is somewhat at fault, even if he is a foil.

At that moment, Shengbao shouted and asked Chen Jinshou and Lei Yixuan why the camps on the middle and east roads were also broken. The day before yesterday, the West Road camp was attacked, why no reinforcements arrived. Chen Jinshou and Lei Yixuan were shocked, knowing that Shengbao was going to use the two as scapegoats, so they wanted to get up and argue a few words, but Shengbao didn't give the two a chance at all. The staff took out the Xianfeng holy decree and shouted: "The holy lord ordered the official to take over the old Zhongtang as the post of suppressing the bandits, and the generals under him can all be controlled, and the two of you are negligent in their duties, which has led to the destruction of the Jiangbei camp that the imperial court has painstakingly managed, and you should be dismissed!" Come on, take off the official uniforms of the two for me, take them in prison, and later go to the capital to hand them over to the criminal department for questioning! ”

Shengbao's guards came to the hall, peeled off the official uniforms of the two like wolves and tigers, and then dragged the two down to the hall, Lei Yixuan shouted loudly, but Chen Jinshou sneered and sighed: "It's a pity that Lao Tzu fell into the false and real plan of long hair, if Lao Tzu's soldiers and horses are not defeated, you Shengbao dare to touch me?" He didn't need to be dragged down, so he walked down the hall by himself.

Although Chen Jinshou's subordinates had cronies and generals present, Chen Jinshou's troops had just been defeated, how could the remnants of his troops dare to speak bravely? Seeing that Qi Shan was sick and weak, Rong Lu, who still had the strength to fight in Yangzhou City, did not say anything, and all the generals shut up. And these cronies and generals such as Feng Jingni, division commander and others heard that the Qin sent candidates to be replaced, and they have long been eyebrow-raising with Shengbao, hoping to hug Shengbao's thighs, and now Shengbao asks Chen Jinshou for the crime, which one dares to speak up? They are even afraid that Shengbao will involve themselves.

Shengbao looked around at the generals with a black face, and all the generals shrank their heads in silence, zuihou Shengbao looked at Rong Lu and praised: "I heard that yesterday's long-haired burst camp, Chen Jinshou transferred the East Road Battalion to the middle road battalions, resulting in the emptiness of the East Road Battalion, only to be broken through the East Camp by the long-haired thieves, Zhonghua was defeated but not chaotic, and under the pursuit of the long hair, he gathered the soldiers and horses and did not disperse, and steadily retreated to Yangzhou, leaving a back road for the armies, and he was really a general." If there is no Zhonghua, I am afraid that even Yangzhou will not be guaranteed. ”

Tuo Ming'a on the side nodded and said: "After Zhonghua General Gate, it really deserves its reputation, in the past, Ma Tan lost the street pavilion, the Wuhou soldiers retreated, and all the soldiers and horses were damaged, but Wang Ping led the army to retreat without chaos, and the pursuing Wei army did not dare to enter lightly. Zhonghua is now Wang Ping, loyal, brave and steady, and he is really a general who knows the soldiers among my people. ”

The generals breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this, and they all touted Rong Lu, and for a while they boasted Rong Lu as if the god of war was in the world.

Shengbao knew that the only highlight of this battle was that he did not lose a single defeat under the big defeat, and kept Yangzhou, he was the minister of the Qincha just appointed by Xianfeng, as long as the defeat was not too ugly, Xianfeng would not slap himself in the face, and ask him about the dismissal of the minister he had just appointed. The person who topped the bag was found, and then rewarded the meritorious Rong Lu and other generals, to settle the army's heart, there are less than 20,000 soldiers and horses in the city, and it is estimated that some defeated soldiers will be collected later, and then rely on the rich Yangzhou to collect some money and food, recruit soldiers, and it is not difficult for Xu Tu to restore the Jiangbei camp.

Thinking of this, Shengbao's face looked much better, and he immediately ordered his staff master to write a notebook, one to report the war here, and asked Xianfeng to punish him, the second to impeach Chen Jinshou and Lei Yixuan for delaying the military plane and causing the defeat of the Jiangbei camp, and the third to ask Rong Lu and other generals for their merits, and to turn the tide under the pursuit of the long-haired army, and strive to ensure that Yangzhou does not lose its clouds.

Subsequently, Shengbao ordered the generals to guard all the dangers in Yangzhou, collect the defeated soldiers outside the city, and gather the soldiers in the city to strengthen the city defense, and step up the collection of grain, grass and money to prevent Changmao from attacking Yangzhou again.

After the generals dispersed, Qi Shan was carried to the backyard room to rest, and after drinking some Ding Jing ginseng soup, Qi Shan weakly ordered his subordinates Goshha to find Rong Lu.

When Qi Shan's subordinate Goshha found Rong Lu, he was greeting the generals at the gate of the government office, and Rong Lu made a great contribution. and won the favor of victory, and the generals naturally wanted to curry favor. Hearing Goshha's message, Lao Zhongtang wanted to see him, and Rong Lu hurriedly said goodbye and left.

followed Goshha to Qi Shandu's sickbed, Rong Lu called a thousand to say goodbye, Qi Shan ordered someone to move a pestle to sit down for Rong Lu, and then waved away the rest of the people, looked at Rong Lu and said weakly: "Zhonghua, the old man is hard to get up, but I am afraid that his life will not be long in coming." ”

Rong Lu is still a little grateful to Qi Shan. If it weren't for his efforts, he wouldn't have been able to go so smoothly, and comforted at the moment: "Lao Zhongtang is at the peak of the Spring and Autumn Period, and now it's just an occasional cold, and now it's good to be in the city to recuperate for a while." ”

Qi Shan coughed a few times and said with a faint smile: "Zhonghua's words can only deceive children." The old man's body bones and the old man himself knows, the old man is the elder of the three dynasties. For the sake of the Great Qing Dynasty. For the emperor, it has been boiled until the oil runs out and the lamp is dry, and being able to die in the army is also the end of the courtiers' festival, this is a happy event, and the old man doesn't care. Fortunately, Zhonghua was able to turn the tide at the critical moment and did not let the old man be taken away by the long-haired thief. If he is taken away by Long Hair, although he is not afraid of death, he will inevitably be humiliated by him, and the old man will thank Zhonghua. ”

Rong Lu hurriedly bowed and said, "Lao Zhongtang is serious. Leading the troops to attack the enemy is the duty of the juniors. ”

Qi Shan's cloudy eyes suddenly brightened, and he looked at Rong Lu and said: "What a responsibility, the soldiers and horses under your command have been preparing for war since the day before yesterday, and even the soft money of you, Chengen, and Zabu Donak have been sent back to Yangzhou in advance to settle down, did you know early on that Changmao was going to use troops against the big battalion?!" Well?! ”

The speed of Qi Shan's change of face caught Rong Lu a little off guard, and Rong Lu's mind was blank for a moment, could it be that Qi Shan, the old fox, saw something? Rong Lu's heart jumped suddenly, and he unconsciously just wanted to pull out the short blade in the boot, but then he thought that the person in front of him was not something that could be killed, and his knees were weak at the moment, and he couldn't help kowtowing when he knelt on the ground, and only said in his mouth: "Lao Zhongtang save me, Lao Zhongtang save me." ”

Qi Shan didn't know that he had come back after a trip to the Ghost Gate, and sighed lightly: "You, you, you're still a little too tender, the old man just cheated on you, and you panicked, remember, what you insist on in the future, no matter how others threaten and drink, you can't let go." ”

Rong Lu's eyes were dark, and he almost vomited blood, this old fox was cheating himself.

I only heard Qi Shan continue: "The old man has also seen the warning from the spies in the south, and he also knows that Changmao will definitely use troops in a big way in the near future, and the old man has also told Shengbao about this, but Shengbao is empty-eyed and can't listen, so he has this defeat." Presumably you also got the warning signal, but you just made some arrangements in advance, and you didn't warn the camp, hehe, even if you warn, it's useless, the old man personally told Shengbao that it's useless, what can you do? Do you want to take this opportunity to take advantage of this opportunity to take advantage of Shengbao and Chen Jinshou together, you can't hide it from the old man with this little bit of caution. ”

Rong Lu breathed a sigh of relief at this time, it turned out that Qi Shan just guessed that he had the intention of competing for merit, and did not think about the collusion between himself and the long-haired thief. Thinking about it, he saved himself by his status as a man, how could Qi Shan never believe that a person who had a grudge against Changmao to kill his father would collude with Changmao, if he changed his body to be a Han, it would be another matter.

Rong Lu squeezed out a few tears and cried: "Lao Zhongtang Mingjian, Shengbao is the Su Wan Guerjia clan, my family is just a side branch of the Guarjia clan, he is in the army, and the younger generation is only afraid that this bad luck will lead to him, so he calculates a ......."

Qi Shan sighed and said: "Officialdom, officialdom, this is a big dye vat, everyone has to learn to protect themselves when they get here, and it seems that you are no exception." Zhonghua, you get up and speak. ”

Rong Lu got up and stood aside, Qi Shan slowly continued: "Shengbao is not stupid, after he thinks about it carefully, he will know that you put him together, and it will be very difficult to run errands under him in the future, when the old man is dying, zuihou will help you, and the old man will play and transfer you to Hunan, where the famous man in Hunan and the waiter of the Ministry of Rites Zeng Guofan are founding a regimental training to resist the long hair in Changsha, Hengyang and other places, but there is a lack of full generals in his army, the old man will play the imperial court, and promote you to Hunan as the chief soldier, Helping to organize group training, hide in Hunan and think Shengbao can't embarrass you anymore. And when you arrive in Xiangdi, you can also avoid the long-haired pseudo-king of the West, this person is like a god with soldiers, you stand in front of him, sooner or later it is the chick that folds its wings before it flies, you go to the west, and after a few years of training, it must be the opponent of this fang. ”

Rong Lu was slightly stunned, he didn't expect Qi Shan to arrange for himself like this, but in Qi Shan's view, Rong Lu is a good seedling for a general, if he eats too many defeats, he will inevitably lose confidence, and he will be defeated and die if he is not careful, and Shengbao will sooner or later figure out today's defeat, Rong Lu also has a bad place, and he will be jealous of him, it is better to avoid going to the battlefield on the West Road as soon as possible, and Zeng Guofan held a group exercise, and the imperial court also hoped that there would be a full general to participate in it, thinking that it was meant to supervise.

Seeing Qi Shan's arrangement, Rong Lu only waited to bow down and receive the order, he only thought in his heart at the moment, if I went to run the Hunan army, I would definitely be able to create my own military horse with the hands of Zeng Guofan, and when the world-famous Hunan army came out of my hands, what were I afraid of? After bowing down to thank him, an excited smile appeared on the corner of Rong Lu's mouth. (To be continued......)