In the city of Taizhou, Da Honga, the chief soldier of Zhangzhou Town, the number one commander of the Qing army under Li Tingyu, the governor of Fujian, was watching the drill of the Qing army in the barracks. Da Honga is a man with a yellow flag in Manchuria, a Fucha clan, and a thick hermitage, and this person has made a lot of contributions to the general army from the Yamen of the infantry army in the capital. In the fifteenth year of Daoguang's transfer to the general army of Taiwan Town, he served under Li Tingyu. Within five years, he swept away the Changhua bandits in Chiayi and was highly relied on by the Qing court. In the 22nd year of Daoguang, in the Opium War, he cooperated with Yao Ying, who was then the Taoist of Taiwan, and defeated the British army attacking Taiwan in the Battle of Da'an, which was one of the few victories of the Qing army in the Opium War.

The Battle of Da'an broke out in the 22nd year of Daoguang, after China and Britain had fought each other in the Battle of Jilong, and the British brig Narbuda berthed at Jilong Harbor (present-day Keelung Harbor). On August 16, the Narbuda fired a cannon attack on the Keelung Ershawan Fort, and the Qing Dynasty defenders in Taiwan returned fire, damaging the ship. After that, Qiu Zhengong, a staff officer of the Monga Battalion (Taipei Battalion), pursued the shipwreck, captured 133 Indians, and 10 other British officers and 22 other Indians on the rest of the ship were killed in the battle. On October 19, the British sent ships to Keelung to ask for the return of prisoners, the Qing army did not reply for a long time, and on the 27th, they attacked the Ershawan Fort again, and sent troops to land in Sanshawan, the Qing defenders fired back, the British ships retreated at noon the next day, and the Ershawan Fort was also destroyed in the battle.

At the beginning of the 22nd year of Daoguang, the British ship Arne visited Wuqi Port (now Taichung Port) and stayed in the outer ocean. Because the strength of the naval division was inferior to that of the British, Da Honga ordered the defenders of Tamsui and Lukang to be on strict alert, and ordered them not to engage in naval battles with the British, and decided to lure the enemy into the inland rivers of Taiwan and run aground.

A few days later, the Arne wanted to disembark from Da'an Port in Da'an Creek, central Taiwan. The Qing army then sent several fishing boats to lure its British ships into the reefs of Hanoi. Due to their ignorance of the terrain, the British army ran aground in the middle of Da'an Creek. Subsequently, Dahun sent troops to ambush, the British ship was sunk, and dozens of British people were killed. In addition, eighteen British officers, one Red (Indian), thirty Indians, and five Cantonese and Kowloon were captured, and the Qing army captured 11 cannons and other weapons on board, as well as a small number of Chinese trophies previously obtained by the British ship in the naval battle of the Yangtze River in China.

Early April. The results of the Battle of Da'an were transmitted to the Qing court, and the Qing Dynasty rewarded Da Hong's Prince Taibao, and Yao Ying's second product was topped. Daoguang, who occasionally won a small victory, was naturally fluttering, and he ordered Yao Ying and Dahong'a to go in addition to the captain and senior officers, as well as the British soldiers captured in the Battle of Keelung earlier. All of them were slaughtered to show that the king's law was like a furnace. In May, Yao Ying was ordered. Except for the captain of the Arne, Turre, and eight other high-ranking British officers. The remaining 139 captives were executed.

In early July, the British army approached Nanjing, and the Qing court had no choice but to negotiate peace with it and sign the Treaty of Nanjing. After the treaty was signed, the British demanded the Qing Dynasty. He ordered Taiwan Town and Taiwan Province to send all the British prisoners to Xiamen, Fujian Province and return them. The Qing court, fearing a change in the peace treaty, did not inform the fact that most of the captives had been executed.

In September of the same year, the British sent the captain of the Sabian, Niuf, to carry the British commander's documents. He sailed to Taiwan to ask for prisoners, but as a result, Niu Fu only brought back 9 prisoners of war from Tainan. After learning the news that most of the British prisoners had been killed, Pu Dingcha, the minister of the Nanjing Treaty, was extremely angry and accused Yao Ying of Taiwan Province and Da Honga, the general soldier of Taiwan Town, of killing the prisoners. In the course of the negotiations, in addition to denying that the two British ships going to Taiwan had taken the initiative to attack, he also accused Yao Ying of killing a British citizen who was not in the military. After negotiations, Qing officials Qi Ying and Yi Liang went to Taiwan in 1843 to dismiss Yao Ying and Da Hong'a from their posts on charges of "murder", and then the Qing government in Beijing exiled them to Sichuan.

As a result, Yao Ying and Da Hong'a, the two anti-British generals, became Daoguang's scapegoats and were exiled. After Xianfeng succeeded to the throne, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom rose up, southern Jiangsu was lost, Xiamen Xiaodaohui uprising, the Qing court reactivated Li Tingyu, Da Honga and Yao Ying were also reactivated, but Yao Ying died of illness last year, and now Da Honga has become the chief soldier of Zhangzhou Town, responsible for the guard of Taizhou, the most forward city of Wentai's defense line.

In the past few days, the training horses of the outer regiments have been attacked one after another, and no team of soldiers and horses from the regiments who went to patrol the sentry or to harass the Taiping Army has returned, and Dahonga keenly smells a trace of unusual atmosphere. As the outgoing squad continued to move south, Dahonga knew that the Taiping army was gradually eating away at the defensive forces on its periphery, and had gradually formed a huge encirclement.

As a lifelong horse, Da Hong'a, who had made meritorious deeds, had to order his soldiers and horses to shrink on the periphery of Taizhou, while urgently warning the Qing army in Wenzhou in the rear and Chuzhou on the flank, and the Taiping army was very likely to launch an offensive in winter.

What made Dahonga feel a little relieved was that his old boss Li Tingyu transferred the only cavalry in Fujian to his command, although this cavalry army of 5,000 people was not as good as the Mongolian cavalry of the northern monk Lingqin, but it was also a liliang that could maneuver in a large area. Therefore, Dahonga took the military camp every day to watch this cavalry drill and prepare for war, as a Manchurian, he was still very superstitious about the great martial arts of his ancestors who won the world with bows and horses.

It was almost noon, and the cavalry of the Fujian Qing Army also finished the drill and went to eat the troops. When Da Hong'a was about to go back to his house to rest, he saw the Qing army scout cavalry that had been released galloping towards him, and the knight on the horse shouted angrily before he arrived: "The long-haired cavalry is raiding the Xun Bridge in the upper reaches of the Jiaojiang River!" ”

Dahong Ahuabai's brows frowned, and the important barrier on the periphery of Taizhou is the Jiaojiang River, the main stream of the Lingjiang River water system, the third largest water system in Zhejiang, and the mother river of Taizhou people. Yong'an Creek and Shifeng Creek, a tributary, in the upper reaches of the Lingjiang River, are called the Lingjiang River after confluence. Jiaojiang refers to the name of the lower reaches of the Lingjiang River in Taizhou, and the estuary is named Jiaojiang because of its shape like a pepper. The defense line of the Qing army on the periphery of Taizhou is all relying on the Jiaojiang River, and the Xun Bridge is located in the northwest of Taizhou more than 40 miles, if this stone bridge is captured by the Taiping Army, the defense line of Taizhou in the Jiaojiang River will become an empty ornament.

The scout ran to Dahong'a and dismounted, knelt down and reported loudly: "The long-haired cavalry is besieging Xunqiao, and Xunqiao Qianzong can't resist it, so please send reinforcements to the town as soon as possible." ”

Dahonga frowned and asked, "How many are there?" ”

The scout said with a sad face: "The number is unknown, we want to get closer, their firearms can hit far away." His subordinates were all killed, and only his subordinates escaped back, so Mr. Xun Qiao asked his subordinates to come back to rescue, and the more people his subordinates saw, there were more than 1,000 people,"

Da Hong'a heard the words and heyed, he put 3,000 regiments on the Xun Bridge to practice guarding, there is a hard village long trench on the south bank of the Xun Bridge, the ordnance, grain and grass are complete, and the long-haired more than 1,000 cavalry dare to attack? After thinking for a while, Dahong Ah Liu shouted: "After ordering the general Li Haocheng to lead the cavalry Huwei battalion with five thousand to eat a full meal." Go to Xunqiao to help! In Da Hong'a's opinion, his 5,000 cavalry plus the original 3,000 foot soldiers of Xunqiao should also be able to contain Xunqiao, but he didn't expect that since the Taiping army could eat the small patrol guards and horses on the periphery of the southern front, couldn't they eat this cavalry that should be reinforced?

An hour weaver, on the plain south of the flood bridge. Li Haocheng, a general of the Qing army, led 5,000 Qing cavalry to gallop over, seven or eight miles away from the Xun Bridge. In the distance, I saw a green forest moving rapidly. Behind is the dust that kicks up.

Li Haocheng pulled out the monocular and looked at it, only to see a cavalry of about 1,000 people galloping over, this strange soldier was dressed strangely, but the flag was the banner deployed by the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Li Haocheng gasped: "How did these long-haired thieves fly through the spiritual water?" As soon as these words came out, Li Haocheng secretly scolded himself for being stupid, and it was dry in winter. The cavalry in the shallow water upstream of the spiritual water can naturally pass, otherwise how could those patrol soldiers and horses on the periphery of the southern line be quietly killed?

The Qing army has always been extremely jealous of the soldiers and horses under the king of the west, and Li Haocheng loudly ordered the generals of all departments to restrain his subordinates, seeing that the enemy was only more than a thousand horsemen. He had 5,000 cavalry, thinking that he might be able to fight a battle, so he hurriedly ordered 1,000 cavalry on the left and right wings to attack first, preparing to suppress the opponent's two wings, and after the Chinese army of 3,000 cavalry pressed on and annihilated the enemy in one fell swoop.

The Qing cavalry on the left and right flanks were ordered to break away from the center and rushed to the cavalry wearing green uniforms on the opposite side with loud shouts. This cavalry is the hard work of Da Hong'a and Li Tingyu, in addition to the highest salary, all kinds of treatment is also the best, usually Da Hong'a also attaches great importance to the training of cavalry, so this cavalry charge is still very imposing.

Li Haocheng looked at the cavalry on the opposite side, the commander of this cavalry immediately reacted, the cavalry was divided into two, and the troops were divided into two wings, but there was no Chinese army left, the two cavalry were completely separated, leaving a huge gap in the middle. Li Haocheng laughed, it turned out that this long-haired general was a stupid person, so that his Chinese cavalry could effortlessly insert into this gap, divide them in two, and encircle and annihilate them. After seeing the fighter plane, Li Haocheng ordered the Chinese army to follow with the horses, and prepared to start attacking after getting close to the charging distance.

How do you know that when the cavalry on the left and right flanks rushed to a distance of 300 paces, the cavalry on the left and right of the opponent began to fire with horse guns, and the enemy cavalry on the left and right sides almost had more than 500 people, every eight people lined up in a row, and the front end of a total of ten eight-person rows lined up, and the front end of the ten eight-person horizontal formation began to beat the horse slowly on 300 steps, followed by a burst of gunfire like fried beans, and in the firelight and gunsmoke, the Qing cavalry on the left and right wings began to scream and fall off their horses.

After this round of shooting, the ten eight-man horizontal formations in the front row quickly separated to both sides, giving way to the ten eight-man horizontal formations in the second row, while the previous ten eight-person teams fought back to the back of the formation.

In this way, the Qing army's dense charging horse formation was fired five times by the Taiping cavalry, and a cavalry fell off his horse, which would inevitably affect the comrades behind him.

Li Haocheng's eyes widened, his mouth opened wide and he couldn't speak, the range of the opponent's firearms immediately reached 300 steps, and it was very accurate, you must know that although the Qing army also had sophisticated smoothbore guns from foreigners, the theoretical range of these smoothbore guns was also about 200 steps, but no one would start to release the gun at a distance of 200 steps, because the lead bullet of the smoothbore gun was not accurate, and no matter how accurate it was aimed at a hundred steps, it would not be able to hit anyone. How could Longhair have such a sharp firearm?

However, Li Haocheng also comforted himself slightly, it is not easy to load the carbine, at most after putting it once, it will enter hand-to-hand combat, the Qing cavalry is skilled in bows and horses, as long as it survives this formation.

But he could not finish comforting himself, and in the telescope, he saw the long-haired cavalrymen, after a round of carbines, galloping away from the back of the formation, and when they arrived, they let the horses walk slowly, and actually reloaded the ammunition on horseback. After a round, the long-haired cavalry had five or six rounds of firing to reload, and their overall formation seemed to be leaning back, deliberately pulling away.

Li Haocheng began to sweat on his forehead, and for the first time he saw the new tactics of the Taiping cavalry, charge-shoot-turn-load-charge, which was much like the reckless tactics of the Mongolian cavalry.

When Li Haocheng was hesitating whether to retreat, the eighth round of guns of the Taiping cavalry shot out, and the Qing cavalry on both wings, who were still more than 100 paces away from them, finally couldn't bear the casualties, and turned their horses' heads one after another and fled to the back.

Li Haocheng shouted angrily: "Who told them to retreat? ”

A thousand general manager next to him whispered: "My lord, the long-haired thief has sharp firearms, or let's avoid it for a while." ”

Li Haocheng also came to his senses at this time, and scolded angrily: "Confused! Long-haired firearms can fight so far, and they are all cavalry, and only by quickly getting close to them can they have a chance of winning, and retreating like this is completely leaving their ass to the enemy! The Chinese army will follow me, and you can win by rushing over! With a clamp on the horse's belly, Li Haocheng rushed forward with the remaining 3,000 Cossack cavalry of the Chinese army.

Li Haocheng said that after the Qing cavalry on both flanks was defeated and retreated, the cavalry of the other side began to pursue, and while pursuing, they used firearms to defeat the two wings. Following them, they quickly adjusted their formation, and did not continue to pursue the Qing cavalry who fled on both wings, and lined up in two large linear arrays on the left and right, and in each linear array, there was a small formation of eight cavalrymen, which were densely wrapped up like fish scales, and the movements were as fast as the wind.

After the Taiping cavalry at the front released a round of guns, the Taiping cavalry drew their sabers one after another and rushed forward with a roar. Seeing the dense layers of snow sabers, Li Haocheng felt a sense of powerlessness, the charge of the Qing cavalry was definitely not as rigorous and meticulous as this, they were all rushing up in a mess, and the opposite side was always maintaining a line of eight people in charge, how did these long-haired cavalry train?

Don't allow him to think about it, on the nearest charging line, in the snow-white light, a thousand cavalry on the enemy's two wings began to accelerate their charge, and the distance of dozens of steps was enough for them to lift the speed of their horses, Li Haocheng instantly understood that the other party's division of troops was intentional, and after defeating the two wings, he surrounded his own Chinese army, and it was he who was annihilated.

The battle flag of the long-haired cavalry was raised, the trumpet of the charge was loud and loud, Li Haocheng saw that his cavalry line was cut like tofu, and the hand-to-hand combat of this swift Taiping cavalry was also very powerful. Is this how it was defeated? A thought flashed through Zuihou, and Li Haocheng saw a row of long-haired cavalry rushing towards his personal guard team, and a bright and dangling saber slashed in front of him, and then his eyes went black, and he fell into endless darkness...... (To be continued......)