The terrain of Daqingguan is relatively high, plus the city wall is as high as 14 meters, and the city gate tower is two stories higher, and the defenders on the top can see far away. At this distance, I can only barely divide the front group, there are at least a few hundred people, and there are no carriages and horses, it should not be a caravan.

Yang, the angle is right, and you can also see the reflection of the swords.

Calculating the time, the brigade commander Luo Tianze should have just arrived in Yuyang Mansion now, and the rebellion may not have time to be quelled, and it is obviously impossible to return.

Realizing that something was not right, the captain of the patrol, although he did not think that there would be any danger, sounded the alarm according to the regulations.

Three hurried sounds mean that the enemy is approaching and war may break out; Three soft sounds, indicating that a large group of suspicious people of unknown origin are approaching. Over the years, caravans have been misreported more than once, all of which have been proven to be false alarms. At this moment, except for those who were not on duty to stay in the barracks, the other officers and soldiers did not take it seriously, slowly took their armor and swords, and poured onto the city wall with a relaxed expression.

"How many times this year? It's been more than three months, at least four times, right? ”

"Guess who came from?"

"Who can say this? There are so many wealthy businessmen in Songjiang, and there are dozens of famous and well-known chambers of commerce, God knows which family it is, anyway, there is no way to make any trouble. ”

These officers and soldiers were talking in a whisper, looking at the scene in the distance.

Although the speed of people coming is not slow, this distance is really not close. Almost half an hour later, a large number of figures approached Daqingguan. Finally, the sharp-eyed soldier saw clearly that the flag of the other party was the Ming Yellow Dragon Banner of the Empire!

"Could it be that the brigade commanders are back?"

The soldiers defending the city instinctively felt strange, but after thinking about it, they were afraid that this was the only possibility.

Word spreads. The soldiers, who were not nervous, became more and more relaxed. Some officers and soldiers have even gone to prepare to open the city with slings in advance. However, it is not known who shouted. The relaxed atmosphere of the defenders at Daqing Pass quickly solidified.

An ominous premonition is creeping in.

The first five or six hundred people to rush back were indeed the standard equipment of the empire. But the soldiers all looked unusual, and many of them had blood and even mud on their faces. There was almost no formation or anything, and it was mixed together at random. The only Ming Yellow Dragon Flag is also held crookedly, and blood stains can be vaguely seen on it. As for the baggage, mules, and horses that accompanied the army, almost everything that could be lost was lost, not even a tenth of what it was when it set off.

Further back, there are still many teams pulled by sparse and sparse. The number of people varies, from more than 100 people to more than a dozen small ones.

All combined, the total is about a thousand more.

This scene of a wolf bèi......

Many of the soldiers who stayed behind were worried, why did the people who came look so much like the defeated army?

Could it be that the army led by brigade commander Luo Tianze failed to counterinsurgency?

However, the news reported from Yuyang Mansion said that the thief army was only 2,000 people at most. What kind of thief can defeat more officers and soldiers than himself?

One question after another, quickly emerged from the hearts of the defenders.

The commotion spread. even alarmed Adjutant Luo Tianze, who stayed behind. Hurriedly ascending to the top of the city, he looked at the messy procession at the front, which was already only a few hundred paces away, and his face turned pale. Speechless.

Probably because they finally rushed back to Daqingguan, the defeated troops in the city let out low cheers and cheers, and many people even stopped from afar and sat on the ground tired. Soon, a few soldiers and officers at the head crossed the crowd and came to Daqing Pass, shouting: "I am Bi Songbai of the Second Wing, open and close the door quickly!" ”

Another person shouted: "I am Song Wuxing, the captain of the First Wing!" ”

"It's Bi Songbai, that's right!"

"It seems to be the ...... of the Seventh Brigade"

After all, they were two officers, and they looked down in Daqing Pass and didn't look up, and someone soon recognized them. called out the names of Bi Songbai and Song Wuxing.

The adjutant also had a little impression of Bi Songbai, and his heart became more and more uneasy. "What happened?" Didn't you follow the Luo Tianze Brigade Commander Nanping the rebellion? And what about the brigade commander? ”

"Back to my lord, our army is next to Dawangzhuang, forty miles south to Yuyang Mansion. It was ambushed by the main force of the thief army and suffered heavy losses. The brigade commander led the army to defeat the enemy, was stabbed four times, was seriously injured and fell into a coma, and was in danger. I fled in a panic, and I lacked medicine, so I was afraid of ......"

Bi Songbai wanted to cry without tears, and said with a sad face. At this time, several officers and soldiers who were also wolf bèi rushed over with improvised stretchers made of wooden planks. Luo Tianze's armor had been removed, covered in blood, and simply bandaged with strips of cloth and gold sore medicine. Due to the passage of time, many strips of cloth have been stained dark red by the leached blood, which looks shocking.

All the way to the present, it is a miracle that he is still not dead, only his chest is still rising and falling slightly. Looking from the top of the city, the undulation was barely felt.

"It's the brigade commander!"

The Daqingguan garrison at the head of the city was in a commotion, and many people had unbelievable looks on their faces, but more panic. Two thousand six hundred people went out, and they came back, less than a third of the total.

At this time, one after another, some people recognized the soldiers who were carrying the stretcher.

"Isn't that one from the First Wing? It's called Zhang or something. ”

"Look, my fellow countryman Wang Cheng, he came back alive!"

"That's just that? What about my cousin? Have any of you seen the three major teams of the Second Wing? ”

The exclamations and occasional greetings on the head of the city made the officers and soldiers approaching outside the Daqing Pass either nervous or ashamed. But no one can see anything in the dust and a wolf. Everyone's attention was all about the seriously injured and unconscious brigade commander and the ambush fiasco, and no one thought about anything else.

"Hurry up and open the card, and let the brigade commander and the brothers enter the customs! Call the Medic! ”

The adjutant was shocked, but he was not suspicious, and while communicating loudly with the officers he knew in the city, he ordered the people to be released.

Soon, the iron suspension bridge pulled up by two thick iron chains slowly lowered and fell to the ground with a bang, raising countless flying dust. Subsequently, the gate with thick iron bags was painstakingly opened by ten soldiers, revealing the passage leading to the Daqing Pass.

When the matter came, Bi Songbai glanced at several other surrendered officers, crossed their hearts, beckoned their hands, and entered the customs along the iron suspension bridge.

It's not that no one has ever thought of pretending to take refuge, but Chen Wutong interrogated and forced him to find out the origins of many officers and soldiers. If the hometown is in the city, it's fine, but some officials and soldiers whose families are small outside the city can't help but beat the drum in their hearts. In addition to the intimidation of the extermination, Chen Wu also threatened a large number of wounded soldiers captured by the Taiping army. Once Bi Songbai and they refused to cooperate, the Taiping army would not only send a horse team to kill their entire family, but also behead all the captured more than 1,000 officers and soldiers as revenge!

On the one hand, there are threats, and on the other hand, there are promises of promotions and rewards.

There are many officials and soldiers who scold and would rather die than give in, but naturally there are many who are willing to take refuge. Among these large numbers of "defeated troops" at the head of the city, almost all of the dozens of people standing at the front were genuine officers and soldiers. Only those who are left behind because of their "lack of body" or who pretend to sit on the ground to rest from a distance, and who are not covered with mud and blood and can't see their faces clearly, are the Taiping Army pretending.

There were a group of familiar officers and soldiers in front of them as internal responses, and no one was suspicious.

Those who dared to be arranged in the subsequent Taiping Army were all bold and careful. Ordered in advance, although they were nervous, they did not show their stuffing. There were even some people who did not have a strong accent in Taiping County who took the initiative to report that they were from a certain wing and a certain brigade, forged a name, and cursed or complained with the defenders who came to answer. Anyway, the entire brigade has 4,000 people, and everyone may be familiar with their comrades in their respective establishments, but it is good to have a small number of officers and soldiers of other wings, and it is normal not to recognize them.

At the very least, when a large number of Taiping troops poured in, no one was suspicious.

"Don't go up yet, stand in line on the school field over there, go back and register, and see who hasn't come back!"

Bi Songbai knew that these Taiping troops did not know the layout of Daqing Pass, even if they had explained it in advance, they were still worried that they would show their flaws because they were not familiar, so he directly gave orders on behalf of Chen Wu according to what Chen Wu mentioned.

With instructions, the remaining Taiping army naturally understood what to do.

They stood silently, under the pretext of rest, and looked at the scene in Daqing Pass with bad intentions.

At the same time, more Taiping troops poured in.

The armor, swords, and even the elite Cheng dù on the training and drill of the Taiping army are similar to those of the officers and soldiers, and even the posture of walking is almost the same. It was this similarity that made the Daqingguan defenders who met the face not aware of the abnormality at the first time. It wasn't until the adjutant arrived with a military doctor and began to rescue Luo Tianze, who was severely unconscious on the stretcher, that the adjutant who inadvertently looked up felt that there seemed to be some incongruity.

"Which ministry are you from, why haven't I seen you?"

He looked up, grabbed a passing Taiping soldier, and asked suspiciously.

The camouflage seemed to be about to be recognized, which made the nearby Taiping soldiers suddenly nervous, and someone faintly pressed on the handle of the knife. The adjutant seemed to notice something, looked left and right, and was suddenly surprised to find that he didn't seem to know any of the "officers and soldiers" who were rushing in one after another from the Tongguò iron suspension bridge!

Even an adjutant could not have known all four thousand hands. But this circle, no matter how bad it is, it should always be a little familiar, right?

The adjutant's heart sank sharply.

He consciously took two steps back and looked at Bi Songbai and Song Wuxing, who were standing not far away. The two eloquent officers were describing the previous ambush to some of the nearby defenders. A large number of the defenders who came to meet them gathered around them. However, Bi Songbai seemed to be waving his hand to say something, but his eyes wandered, and he happened to collide with the adjutant's suspicious eyes.

Both of them understood something in an instant. (To be continued.) )