Time: 6 p.m. on June 15, when it will soon be dark.

Location: Pingyao City, which is the most critical Xuanwu Gate in the entire defense line.

That's right! In a small place like Chaojima, there is also a Xuanwu Gate.

More correctly, they have always liked to imitate the regime and culture of the Central Plains, and many place names, buildings, and customs of the Central Plains are found here.

Even a hundred years later, many grandchildren shamelessly claim that all these cultural practices are original to them, and they have also applied for cultural heritage internationally.

Of course, all of the above.

For the battlefield that has already reached the heat at the moment, none of the above is important.

The important thing is that after wiping a handful of cold rain on his face, Zuo Baogui, the leader of the Fengjun system in the Beiyang Huai Army, heard a sentence full of panic from his subordinates:

"Junmen, the little devils are rushing up again~"

The reason why there is such a thing as 'again' is that since the early hours of this morning, the little devil who has made all the preparations for the siege outside the city has been prepared.

Despite the heavy rain that had been falling for several days, the attack was finally launched on all fronts.

Among them, it is the core of the entire Pingyao defense line, that is, the Xuanwu Gate they guard; It is also the most important direction in the attack of the little devils.

The number of troops they invested was at least three times that of Zuo Baogui's men here.

Under the cover of the fierce artillery fire, the little devils with a huge advantage in strength frantically attacked; The last batch of little devils was fighting, and before the defenders could take a good breath, the next batch of little devils rushed up again.

Frankly speaking, Zuo Baogui admitted that the soldiers of the Feng Army under his command were really desperate in this battle.

It's just that after a night of fierce fighting, at eight or nine o'clock in the morning, the peony platform outside the city fell into the hands of the little devil; This place is the highest point in the entire Pingying Castle, and you can overlook the entire Pingying Castle after going up.

After pulling the cannon up, it can directly bombard any part of the city.

With such an advantage in artillery fire, the attack of the little devil is even more crazy.

So much so that up to now, the Fengjun brothers under Zuo Baogui have suffered heavy casualties; Even Zuo Baogui himself was shot in the left shoulder, and after being soaked in the rain, his left hand no longer had much strength.

But when he heard that the 'little devil' had come up, he immediately cheered up and shouted out a sentence:

"Brothers, get ready to fight, push those few Grimm cannons up for me~".

Under such an order, an officer under him with the rank of Sanpin guerrilla military attaché, and even more so Zuo Baogui's own nephew, pleaded bitterly:

"Junmen, retreat, right?

Now that after a day of fighting, the brothers have suffered heavy casualties, and they are worthy of the court and the Zhongtang; It's almost time now, leave us a little seed for the army, right? ”

Faced with such a plea, Zuo Baogui was furious:

"Shut up, if Zuo Guodong lets me hear such a statement again today, even if you are my own nephew, I will cut you on the spot today."

After scolding, he said to the group of soldiers who looked at him with sad and indignant expressions:

"Brothers, this battle is a national war, and we must be determined to fight to the death.

Besides, someone just came to report that on the battlefield on the south bank of the Datong River on the left flank and the southwest of the city on the right flank, the positions of the friendly troops remained immovable, and they had killed many little devils, which could be regarded as taking some advantage.

As long as you hold on for a while, I think that after dark, the little devils will run out of strength, and they will definitely retreat.

When the time comes, I will definitely have people cook some raw broth to warm everyone up. ”

The above Zuo Baogui's statement is also correct, in today's battle of Pingyao City, because the military leaders such as Nie Shicheng and Ma Yukun on the left and right flanks have personally supervised the battle on the front line.

In addition, before the war, Li Zhongtang finally transported a large amount of silver, which was regarded as making up for everyone's arrears, not to mention rewarding another month's salary.

He also promised that after the war, how to give everyone promotions and rewards, the green army fought quite well.

Especially in the 'bridge of boats' on the left flank, where the Qing army built many fortresses first, but the little devils who attacked did not have any cover on the way, and suffered a large number of casualties from artillery fire.

added Ma Yukun, and took Goshha to take the lead in counterattacking from time to time.

So far, on this battlefield alone, the little devils have suffered nearly 1,000 casualties.

In short, Zuo's precious judgment is correct under normal circumstances.

Because of the heavy rain, the little devils who have been attacking back and forth for more than ten hours are now exhausted; The bullets he was carrying were almost finished.

When Zuo Guigui yelled 'ready to fight' in his mouth.

Just a few miles away from him, the county county Youshan, who was also holding a telescope and holding a telescope on his body, also let the rain continue to wash over his body, and sighed helplessly.

Although he was a little unwilling, he knew that the warriors of the empire had done their best today.

There are even many warriors who have not eaten breakfast or lunch until now, and are fighting on an empty stomach, and they can no longer hold on physically.

After putting down the binoculars, he immediately saw Shang Wen to a brigade commander of the Fifth Division beside him, and said: "If this attack has not yet come to fruition, let the warriors retreat and continue the attack tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Immediately see Shangwen, in the war between the future island country and Maozi, the devil who used white-knuckle combat to defeat Maozi, who was several times larger than himself, and thus won the first fierce general of the island country's army, could only reluctantly agree.

Even if he knew that the army came lightly and did not carry much bullets and food.

On the contrary, according to the intelligence, the bullets and food in Pingyao City are at least enough for a month; If the war continues to be consumed, it will definitely be quite unfavorable to the island nation.

Then, the commanders of the island countries such as the Dangshan County Shed basically gave up on today's attack, and they were even more worried about the future war.

The battle in front of us has taken a striking turn......

The reversal of the Pingyao battlefield all came from Ye Zhichao, the commander-in-chief of Daqing on the battlefield of Chaodao.

When Zuo Baogui, Nie Shicheng, Ma Yukun and other generals led their subordinates to fight to the death, Ye Zhichao was in the official office of Pingyao City.

Under the paleness of his face, Ye Zhichao kept muttering:

"I can't hold it, I'm afraid I can't hold this peaceful city, why was I confused by the ghost that day, and promised Li Zhongtang to come to the ghost place of Chaodao, I'm afraid I'm going to die here today."

When this grandson followed Liu Chuanming to suppress the Twist Army in the early years, he was also a fierce general.

But after enjoying the glory and wealth for more than ten years and accumulating a family business from the boss, he has long lost the slightest ambition, and he is also very afraid of death.

Now only when the commanding heights of the Peony Terrace have been lost, and the other defense lines are still tight, they actually want to run.

Not long after, when a cannonball beckoned from the peony platform landed in the courtyard of the government office, it blew up several people on the spot, and a huge explosion and screams reached the ears.

Ye Zhichao trembled all over, and the last trace of courage in his heart completely disappeared at this moment, and he made up his mind to escape.

However, before running away, I still remember in my heart that in such a year, the soldiers and horses under my command are the capital of my body.

Immediately, he called a Goshha and quickly admonished.

The general meaning is to let the battalions of the Sheng army secretly withdraw, and Zuo Guigui, Nie Shicheng and the others will leave them alone for now, so as to buy them a little more time to retreat.

It was also the selfishness of this goods that led to a tragedy......

******

Twenty minutes later, Zuo Baogui, who was supervising the battle in Xuanwu Gate, suddenly heard a large chaotic cry in the Pingyao City behind him.

When I looked back, I saw a soldier drenched in soup, staggering towards this side.

While running, he shouted in his mouth: "Zuo Junmen, Ye Dashuai, it's not right!" It's Ye Zhichao, a bastard, who didn't even say hello to Sheng Jun, and ran away first~"

After hearing such a sentence, Zuo Baogui shouted out in the heavy rain, 'Ye Zhichao, you dog thief can't die well', and his voice was full of endless grief and indignation.

Because he knew that Ye Zhichao's run like this would inevitably lead to the complete collapse of the entire defense line.

How many of the troops were able to escape in a hasty retreat with no morale? And if the main army of Daqing and Beiyang is also finished, who else can stop these little devils and march towards Daqing?

Zuo Baogui's scolding voice fell in his mouth, and his nephew Zuo Guodong proposed again:

"Junmen, let's withdraw too~"

After hearing this, Zuo Baogui replied with grief and indignation: "What to withdraw? The little devils have bitten our army, and they can't withdraw if they want to.

Rather than being easily killed by the devil chasing soldiers behind him on the way, it is better to fight to the death on the spot and hold on, so as to buy others some time to escape.

It's all the Pao Ze brothers, if you can escape back a little more, let's run back a few more. ”

After hearing such a sentence, the battalion officer under the other subordinate shouted with a crying voice: "Zuo Guodong, you take the military gate away."

Don't worry, we will all be crucified here. ”

Although the other soldiers did not speak in the dialogue of the above officers, they remained in place and kept firing, which also showed their determination to fight to the death

These people above have such a desperate performance.

It is entirely because only Zuo Baogui is alive that someone can help them get the pension from Li Zhongtang afterwards, and there is hope for the origin of the children in the family.

Otherwise, if you die, you will really die in vain.

But Zuo Guigui shook his head, and today he was already planning to die here.

Twenty minutes later, in the last rays of the sky, Shan County Youpeng and Lijian Shangwen, the two of them, escorted by a large number of guards, walked into the tattered Xuanwu Gate as victors.

Here, the two of them stopped.

Because among the corpses of the Fengjun all over the ground, Zuo Baogui, who was shot several times in the chest and abdomen, was already dead.

But he was still leaning against one side of the wall, and would not fall down no matter what; His eyes glared forward angrily, and his face was still frozen in the appearance of a great 'kill' before death.

In front of Zuo Baogui's corpse, Shan County Youpeng took off his hat and saluted, muttering in his mouth:

"There are still warriors among the young people, but it is a pity that the existence of one or two warriors is not enough to change their fate; Daqing's rotten existence is destined to be eliminated. ”

Then, in the sparse gunfire of the gunshots, the two people in the county town entered Pingyao City from the Xuanwu Gate.

I saw that there were all kinds of debris all over the ground, and there were even a lot of shoes that had run away; Groups of young soldiers, who had no time to escape, were squatting on the side of the road with frightened faces under their guard.

Every soldier of the empire, although his face was full of exhaustion, was excited, and saluted Shan County and the others.

And in some warehouses on the side of the road, you don't have to go inside the door to see, you can see a lot of ammunition, food and other supplies that originally belonged to the Qing Army, and now all of them are gone.

After thinking of something, Youpeng in Shan County suddenly looked at Lijian Shangwen beside him and asked:

"That's right! Did the Far Mountains detachment set off? ”

Lijian Shangwen replied with a smile: "Each soldier has already set off after replenishing two rice balls and a base number of ammunition.

Motoyama Daisa assured me that even if half of his men ran away, they would definitely catch up with these fleeing troops and completely block Daqing, the largest armed force. ”

"Okay, send a brigade to eat at once and rest for four hours; Then let me chase all the way along Yiju Avenue, and I can't let go of a single green army. ”

I feel that I have reached the peak of my life, and I have a shed in my mouth......

It's messy, it's completely messy, this is Ye Zhichao's most real feeling at the moment.

Even he himself did not realize what a catastrophe his previous order to retreat would eventually cause.

The Sheng army under his command came out of the Seven Star Gate and was discovered by the other armies; Then, except for Zuo Baogui, the other armies also retreated immediately.

Soon after, the formation of the battalions was in disarray.

The officer could not find the soldier, and the soldier did not have the idea of looking for the officer, but now he only knew that he was running wildly along the main road, and he was eager to escape across the Yalu River and flee back to the northeast of Daqing.

Now, he doesn't even know where he has gone.

The only thing that is known is that on both sides of the mountainous Asagima area, the narrow mountain roads are full of thrown luggage, horse-drawn carriages, and tired war horses.

Even the weapons and ammunition for self-defense were thrown away by their masters so that they could run faster.

One by one, the warriors struggled to advance on the muddy muddy road.

Their eyes were as hollow as those of the dead, their faces were full of horror, and occasionally the sound of a gunshot would make them tremble.

Anyway, such an army can be regarded as abolished for a long time.

It's just that after seeing all this, Ye Zhichao, who was escorted by Goshha and rode forward with difficulty on a horse, still didn't regret it in his heart.

Because at least he is alive now, as long as he is alive, he can turn the tables.

As for the death of so many people in this battle, what is the future of Daqing, and what does it matter to him?

But just when he was advancing against the heavy rain, he kept telling himself in his heart that he had done the right thing, and that the death of Zuo Baogui and others was completely unlucky, and he couldn't be blamed.

Suddenly, a dense burst of gunfire rang out in front of me, and a large number of cries rang out: "It's not good, there are a lot of little devils blocking the road on a hill ahead~"

Hearing such bad news, Ye Zhichao shook on the horse's back for a while, and almost fell off the horse.

Could it be that this god really wants to kill him Ye Zhichao?

When he came back to his senses, this thing also broke out with his ruthlessness under the desire to survive, and asked Captain Goshha beside him:

"Xu Liang, how does Ye treat you on weekdays?

Today, Ye's life and death depend on whether you can fight a way out for the whole army.

As long as you rush away from the devil in front of you, if you don't die, Ye will ensure your prosperity and wealth in the future; If they die here, their parents Ye will provide for them in their old age, and their wives and children will be responsible to the end. ”

Thinking that although Ye Zhichao was mean on weekdays, he was really good to them, and after the captain Xu Liang gritted his teeth.

Turning his head to the group of Goshhamens, he shouted in his mouth:

"Brothers, I don't know how much I have eaten, used, and played with Ye Dashuai over the years; Today is the time to serve the commander.

People die and do not die for thousands of years. ”

After saying that, he took Goshha, who originally had 200 people, but now there were 100 people left after running away, and pulled out the short spear on his waist, or a waist knife, and killed him forward.

After Ye Zhichao gritted his teeth, he also followed.

As he walked, he shouted a promise to those ordinary soldiers in his mouth: "Now recruit the will to dare to fight, and open a bloody road for the whole army."

After this battle, it doesn't matter if you live or die. The reward of three hundred taels of silver for each person will be cashed out as soon as I arrive in the northeast.

Whoever rushes up first shall be rewarded with two thousand taels of silver; Even if he dies in battle, Ye will definitely be handed over to his family. ”

Xu is that there will be brave men under the heavy reward, and Xu knows that if he does not open a way to live, sooner or later he will die.

Anyway, soon after, about 200 people joined the charging team, but unfortunately many of these people threw away their weapons in their hands, and could only pick up some wooden sticks.

In the end, a group of more than 300 people came to a mile or two ahead, in front of a mountain that I didn't know what to call.

After Xu Liang, the captain of Goshha, let out an angry roar of 'kill devils' in his mouth, they trampled on the muddy water all over the ground and rushed towards a small hill that was only a few tens of meters high.

And these warriors under Ye Zhichao's command, who had high hopes, were the moment they launched the charge, and the dense rifles on the hill were fired.

Judging from the light of the gun's fire, there are probably hundreds of people on it.

In the blink of an eye, those under Ye Zhichao were defeated by seventy or eighty people.

The rest of those people were under the heavy reward, and the blood and courage that had risen a little bit immediately disappeared, and they all slowed down their pace.

Only the captain of Goshha, Xu Liang, brandished a revolver, and continued to rush forward with a few henchmen.

But seven or eight seconds later, Captain Goshha and several others fell to the ground in a burst of gunfire.

After a faint word of island Chinese sounded, hundreds of little devils with snowy bayonets, with unknown howls in their mouths, rushed down from the small hill like a flood.

Moments later, the more than 200 surviving people turned around and ran.

No matter how Ye Zhichao wielded his waist knife and shouted, it was useless to drive them back to resist; Someone even knocked Ye Zhichao to the ground directly after hitting one shoulder.

At this moment, Ye Zhichao finally regretted it, or was desperate.

Because he thought that if he stayed in Pingyao City to fight to the death, maybe he could still retain the last bit of dignity.

Also at the same time, on a mountain a few miles ahead, Hanjiang spit out a mouthful of rain with a sound of 'bah~'.

Facing Yu Hanfeng beside him, he said softly: "Commander, you can do it." ”

And at the foot of the hill is a large clearing; All the fighters of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in the open space have been assembled here for some time.

Under the heavy rain, the horses were carefully covered with tarpaulins.

But the cavalry soldiers stood there motionless like a mountain, like a cavalry knife that had not yet been unsheathed, containing a subtle murderous aura of 'blood will be seen when the knife is released......

(End of chapter)