Under the city of Longshan.

The siege of the rebels and the Good Friends has never stopped. However, due to the lack of elite troops to participate, the siege on both sides could only wear down the physical fitness and morale of the officers and soldiers at best, and it would take a lot of money and exchange to kill and injure the soldiers of the city defense battalion.

Xu Shizhong, who was in charge of the command, was not in a hurry about this, and still attacked step by step every day, and by the way, he practiced the volunteer battalion left behind.

He knew that after the elite was transferred, it was no longer on his side that really decided the victory.

The officers and soldiers of Longshan City looked the same, if they might not have felt anything abnormal on the first day, then in the following days, even the dullest people could detect the weakening of the offensive power of the rebels. But the officers and soldiers were also not in a hurry, they were very confident in the army sent by the county, and just patiently held the city and waited for external reinforcements.

The ordinary siege of the city was then guarded by the officers and soldiers ordinarily, and by the way, the rebels were trained without other idle matters.

It's actually quite a good day.

However, Xu Shizhong, who was familiar with the entire plan of the Taiping Rebels, knew very well that the stalemate under Longshan City would not last like this forever. How exactly it will change after that, it depends on the battle in the Xia Yang Valley. If the rebels can win a big victory, then the entire Taiping County will be their world for the time being. If the official army was not fooled, or directly broke through the encirclement, then Xu Shizhong had to think about it, and fled to Yanyun County under a pseudonym to seek refuge.

Although he was very important in the rebel army, he was not yet to the point of serving the other party.

Noon on the fifth day!

Just when Xu Shizhong commanded the temporarily recruited Xiandeng battalion to launch a new attack according to the usual practice, a group of galloping cavalry appeared on the official road in the distance.

His heart immediately rose to his throat.

The last contact from Xia Yang Valley's side was two days ago. It was only said that the officers and soldiers were not suspicious and marched towards Xiayang Valley. What happened next, there is no news. I don't know if it's because the fight is too intense, or if it's something else. Now this cavalry will undoubtedly bring the result of fate.

Will it be a victory?

Twelve points of concern to him, he didn't even bother to look at the soldiers who had already erected the ladder in the first camp, and stared at the messenger cavalry who broke into the camp of the righteous army all the way. After being stopped by the guards, several riders turned over and dismounted, strode in, and shouted with joy on their faces: "Good news! Xiayang Valley wins! ”

Win!

Xu Shizhong only felt a buzzing in his ears, his heart thumped, and the leader of the rebel army, who probably knew something, couldn't help but be in an uproar. By the time he had calmed down, the rider who had reported the news had already arrived. Xu Shizhong immediately ordered his subordinates to let him go, and personally inquired about the beginning and end of the battle in Xiayang Valley.

“…… The officers and generals seemed to be vigilant and ordered the officers and troops of the first wing to cross the valley first. Seeing this, General Tiangong ordered everyone to hold it still. Seeing that there were indeed no ambushes in the valley, the remaining 3,000 officers and soldiers entered the valley together with 600 cavalry. Only then did the general issue an order, put down the boulder logs on both sides to block the way out, set fire to the mountain, and set up a stone thrower to bombard the officers and soldiers on the valley...... The fire was extinguished in one day and one night, and a total of 1,000 officers and soldiers were burned, more than 2,100 people were captured, and countless swords and armor were ......"

The rider who reported the news was not badly eloquent, and one of the soldiers of the rebel army who heard about it was very happy.

"General Tiangong is really a god!"

"Only six of our brothers died? Destroyed 1,000 officers and soldiers, and captured more than 2,000? Even if it's an ambush, it's too scary! ”

"My Taiping Righteous Army really has heavenly help!"

"The officers and soldiers sent by the county town are gone, doesn't it mean that no one will be able to save Longshan Mansion for a while?"

The soldiers talked a lot, but their faces were full of joy. With such an unprecedented victory, and so many swords and armor captured, the rebels are about to make a fortune. Many people even faintly began to think that this rebel army has won consecutive battles, should it really take over the world?

Calculating the time, the Qianyuan Empire has been a country for more than 300 years, and the dynasties are not short......

With this thought, the expressions of the soldiers of the rebel army immediately changed.

Xu Shizhong also thought a lot, but he knew the value and significance of this victory even more, and immediately instructed his personal guards: "Spread the news of the great victory, and be sure to let everyone in the whole army know!" ”

At Xu Shizhong's deliberate request, the victory of Xiayang Valley spread quickly among the rebels and the army of displaced people. The Good Friends got the news almost at the same time, and cheered. Soon, another piece of good news spread among the army of displaced people in the name of General Tiangong. Because of the big victory over the official army, each person will add one or two meters to dinner today!

It doesn't seem like much, but multiplied by the base number of 780,000 displaced people, it immediately becomes a large number.

But the expenditure is worth it.

Almost all the displaced people temporarily forgot about the actions of the rebels when they got the news, and many even thanked Chen Wu, the general of Tiangong, and called him merciful. It was just the cheers of the rebels, but the momentum was not so amazing. Now even these 70,000 or 80,000 homeless people cheered together, and the momentum was great.

The officers and soldiers defending the city at the head of Longshan City were taken aback by this sudden change.

At first, they mistakenly thought that the anti-thieves finally couldn't hold back and were about to attack, and they were very nervous for a while. Even Zhang Chengshou personally went to the city after getting the news, and ordered his subordinates to carry 10,000 gold coins from the treasury to boost morale. But seeing that the rebels did not make any special movements next, but even called back the first camp that was originally attacking the city, these officers and soldiers realized that something was wrong.

Something must have happened that was particularly beneficial to the thieves.

Looking at the cheers from the city one after another, Zhang Qisheng's heart rose with a deep sense of unease.

The siege of the thieves weakened, and the main elite force was slow to move, and now they suddenly cheered again...... Could it be?

After calculating the time, Zhang Qisheng thought of a possibility, and his face turned pale instantly. But then, he forcibly suppressed this terrible thought, reassuring himself that it was impossible. However, the bad news that should come cannot be concealed after all. Soon, the officers and soldiers with sharper ears heard clearly what the thieves were shouting under the city.

The officers and soldiers sent by Wu'an were ambushed in Xiayang Valley and almost all of them were wiped out!

This bad news-like news spread like a hurricane in the city, and in an instant, the morale of the officers and soldiers defending the city hit the bottom. Although Zhang Qisheng was reported after the tea and immediately ordered the officers to inspect and not allow such news to spread, it was too late.

Although all the soldiers felt unbelievable, the delay in the arrival of Wu'an's officers and soldiers, coupled with the cheers of the bandit army outside the city, no matter how you look at it, this news is true.

"This must be a rumor of thieves, seeing that the city cannot be captured for a long time, it is used to hit the hearts of our army!"

Zhang Qisheng resolutely refused to admit the news spread earlier, and swore that the thieves simply did not have the ability to eliminate so many officers and soldiers. According to the messenger who had asked for help, it would be two or three days at most before the officers and troops of the county would arrive.

Of course, this is empty talk, used to temporarily appease the morale of the military.

Zhang Qisheng's idea is very simple, if the news is false, the thief army will definitely take the opportunity to step up the siege of the city, then this statement can help stabilize the morale of the army. If the news is not faked and the official army is really defeated, then after two or three days at most, the elite of the thieves will return with a large number of prisoners and captures. At that time, even if you want to, you won't be able to hide it.

All he asked for was to delay for as many days as possible.

The personal statement of Lord Castle Guard still has a lot of credibility. Although they were still skeptical, the officers and troops defending the city remained stable for the time being. But after getting off the city, Zhang Qisheng's face did not improve at all, and he went straight to the study, and called the new co-captain Mo Lun and the captain of the personal guard Wang Feng.

The two military attachés, who were also cloudy, quickly found the location of Xia Yang Valley on the map.

Some of the people in the city guard mansion happened to have been to Xiayang Valley and told the local situation. As soon as the two were combined, Mo Lun and Wang Feng's hearts sank completely.

The two realized that what the thief said was most likely true!

The reinforcements, which were regarded as the only hope by Longshan, were actually ambushed by the thieves, and the entire brigade was wiped out in a systematic manner!

Needless to say, seeing the expressions of the two henchmen, Zhang Qisheng knew the result, but he still didn't give up and said: "What are the people of the garrison brigade thinking?" If you don't take the official road well, why do you want to go to Xiayang Valley? ”

Wang Feng and Mo Lun are not sure about this, but they can probably guess it.

What's more, it has already happened, and it is too late to know the beginning and the end now. What lies ahead of them is a collapse that is already too bad to be managed.

No one knows what to do now to get it back!