Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 865: The Imperial Army's Defeat
"Huha, kill!"

"Quick, rush over, anyone who stands in my way will die!"

On the north side of Linshan County, the imperial court's army of more than 100,000 and the main force of the Taiping Rebellion had been fighting for nearly three hours. At this time, both sides had almost deployed all their troops.

Zuo Ling led an army of 70,000 and charged straight into the left wing formation. He suddenly rushed into the battlefield, which doubled the pressure on Jia Lian and Hu Le's troops. Jia Lian looked up and his scalp instantly went numb. He saw a large number of bandits rushing over from the south. His own front line was gradually compressed. If he waited any longer, he might not be able to hold on. He didn't know what to do in a hurry. Should he continue to fight or retreat? He had no idea.
Looking back,
By chance, he saw General Hu covered in blood after killing many people, so he quickly spurred his horse and rushed over with his personal soldiers, shouting;
"General Hu, General Hu, please stop for now. Look to the south, the enemy army has nearly double the number of reinforcements arriving here. We can't stop them."

Following Jia Lian's pointing, Hu Leyue put away the knife and wiped the blood off his face, looking extremely ferocious. He looked back and saw a large number of people rushing down the gentle slope in the south, as many as 60,000 to 70,000 people. He was shocked and felt something was wrong.

The battle was intense, the enemy had many reinforcements, and our formation was in disarray. How could we resist? He looked at Jia Lian and shouted:

"Jia Lian, quickly have the cavalry pass the message. Our two armies should withdraw to the flanks of the main formation and reorganize to defend. Let General Dong of Hexi County provide support."

"Yes, General Hu,"

Jia Lian was already panicking at this time. The reason why he was able to charge over calmly just now was because when he was charging along the army formation with his personal soldiers, a tripping pit appeared in front of him. The vanguard soldiers led the army to attack the two wings, and he also saw the opportunity, slowed down his horse, and stayed in the middle. After the cavalry rushed into the enemy formation, he slowly retreated, always standing behind the formation to avoid fighting, so the clothes and armor on his body were always clean as usual, otherwise he would have rushed over just now and killed a few lone enemy soldiers, and had some blood on his body, so he looked like a general on the battlefield.

The words were agreed, but how to withdraw from the battlefield was still a problem. After all, the two armies were already entangled in the fighting. What if they retreated and caused a rout? For a moment, Jia Lian didn't know how to pass the order. After all, he only had his personal soldiers around him, and he couldn't find the soldiers from other units.

Hu Le had already called together the soldiers who were still breathing, and when he saw Jia Lian still standing there in a daze, he shouted:
"Jia Lian, why aren't you moving?"

"General Hu, there is no way to gather troops."

Jia Lian had a depressed look on his face. He looked around and saw the sounds of soldiers fighting all around him. Even if someone shouted, he could not hear anything.

"You fool, you put up the flag and ran around the battlefield, shouting as you ran. The soldiers saw you and chased you."

Hu Le cursed loudly and pointed at the flag behind Jia Lian.
Jia Lian suddenly realized what was going on. He immediately asked his personal soldiers to count the generals' flags, then he rode his horse and galloped along the battlefield.

As soon as the horses moved, the wind picked up and the flags fluttered. Many cavalrymen followed suit. After a while, most of the troops caught up. However, Jia Lian looked and saw that there were only over 10,000 cavalrymen left, half of which were originally 20,000. He was disappointed. He looked at General Hu and saw that although they had formed a circle and retreated, only half of the 10,000 soldiers were left. It was obvious that the loss was huge.

Although the Taiping Rebellion army was littered with corpses, the people chasing them were swarming in. Even Hu Le turned pale and ran back with the soldiers around him.

Wang Ziteng, who was in the rear, saw this movement clearly. Seeing the left wing collapse, his face suddenly changed. He immediately turned his attention to the troops of He Yong and Wang Ren on the right wing. He saw that the two of them were struggling to hold on, but they were also losing ground. The bandits in the rear kept coming out, and it seemed that they were about to collapse.

The Imperial Guards Commander Kang Mengyu's face changed drastically. If the troops on both wings were to retreat, the main force of the central army would be surrounded. If they were surrounded and entangled by the enemy army, they would surely be annihilated.

"General Jie, quickly let the central army retreat. Let General Dong of Hexi County and General Peng of Hedong County retreat quickly and set up a defensive formation. Then let the central army retreat. Otherwise, the two wings will surround us and we will be finished, General Jie!"

Kang Mengyu shouted, seeing the enemy troops beginning to move closer to the central army, there was no time left.
Wang Ziteng was frightened at this moment. The war situation changed so fast that he was obviously unexpected. He was at a loss for a moment. At the critical moment, it was General Lu who gave the order with a gloomy face;
"Quick, Marshal Jie, order the central army to retreat, and let General Dong and General Peng withdraw first to provide cover."

"Yes, General."

The messengers went out in all directions, and Kang Mengyu did not wait any longer, but immediately ordered his deputy general;

"Liang Fei, you take 5,000 cavalry and go to the right wing to provide support. I will go to the left wing to join Jia Lian."

"Yes, General,"

After he finished speaking, 10,000 imperial cavalrymen marched out from both sides, leaving only Wang Ziteng's 1,000 personal guards in the main formation. Just as Wang Ziteng was delivering the order, the Taiping Sect in the central army could no longer maintain their formation, and they fought one after another in an attempt to slow down the advance of the imperial army.

At this moment,
The messenger soldiers said;

"The commander-in-chief has ordered the entire army to retreat. The troops from Hexi and Hedong counties will evacuate first and defend our camp. General Feng will guard the rear."

Feng Shoujie, who was leading the troops fighting in the front, suddenly looked back and was shocked. Something must have happened on the two wings. He saw that the troops on the left wing were defeated and the enemy troops were encircling the central army. The troops on the right wing led by He Yongwang Ren could no longer hold on and retreated in a hurry. Was this battle lost?
The mound ahead was only a hundred steps away.

While they were hesitating, General Dong and General Peng had already realized the danger and ordered the entire army to retreat to the main camp for defense. As soon as the two left, Feng Shoujie, who was in the middle, immediately felt the pressure doubled. Helplessly, he glared fiercely at the mound in the distance.
"The rear army becomes the front army, the front army defends and slowly retreats."

Following the general's order, the central army, which was still advancing, began to fight and retreat, following the troops of the two counties.

As long as there is enough time, we can organize a formation and counterattack.
Unfortunately, Zuo Ling did not give the imperial army any chance to catch their breath. He strictly ordered his troops to chase the fleeing people in front of them and rush directly to the general's flag where the central army was located. To catch a thief, you must first catch the leader.

But two legs can never outrun four legs. After Jia Lian's troops in front met up with Kang Mengyu who came to support them, the 15,000 cavalry, under Kang Mengyu's order, were required to turn their horses around and lead the army back to stop the pursuers. Although Jia Lian was reluctant, he was afraid that if he did not stop them, General Hu would not be able to come back, so he had to turn his horses around and stop them with crossbows.

The pursuers behind them had almost no formation, and were thrown to the ground by the cavalry's counterattack, with many casualties. Seeing this, Zuo Ling had to lead his troops to form a formation. This delay allowed Hu Le's retreating infantry to immediately distance themselves from them.
Not only did Wang Ren's troops on the right wing lose more than half of their strength, but General He's men also suffered more than 70% casualties. Even though Liang Fei led the imperial guards to provide support, the Taiping Sect's Du Hufa led the slave army in front and consumed most of the cavalry's arrows. In the end, they had no arrows left, so they ordered a retreat. Unfortunately, the soldiers became frightened and were in a state of collapse. The battle line that had been able to hold on for a while was suddenly in ruins.
Seeing this, the soldiers in the central army quickened their pace. As they left, their morale was completely gone, and they could not maintain the formation that was supposed to be maintained. In the chaos, the panic increased, and everyone actually ran towards the northern camp. The soldiers could not see their generals, and the generals could not see their commanders. The chaotic army swarmed back. Even if there was a god of war here, he would be powerless to save the situation.

Lu Daiyuan was helpless. Fortunately, the central army retreated in time and was not surrounded. Seeing that the commander was speechless, he was obviously too frightened. This battle lasted for four hours, and it was estimated that more than 60% of the troops had been lost. Although the enemy suffered more casualties, the Taiping Sect was least afraid of losing numbers. His old face darkened and he thought to himself, I underestimated the enemy.

He immediately gave orders to his attendants.
"Let Kang Mengyu, Jia Lian, and Wang Ren lead the cavalry to provide cover, and the rest of you retreat to the main camp. Half of you will stay behind to hold the commander's flag, and the rest will escort the commander back to the camp and reorganize the army."

"Yes, General Lu."

After giving the order, Wang Ziteng's personal soldiers surrounded Wang Ziteng and retreated to the camp behind him. Lu Daiyuan held up the commander's flag and stood there. All the defeated soldiers calmed down when they saw the commander's flag. The troops from Hexi and Hedong counties who had returned first immediately formed a circle, separated into left and right wings, protected the central army's retreat channel, and waited for General Feng's troops.
"Form a formation, archers ready, one hundred and fifty steps ahead, projectiles, fire!"

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh,"

Arrows flew, arrows rained down,
The troops of the Taiping Sect who were pursuing them immediately left a large area of ​​space, and the space before the arrows was almost completely empty of the troops retreating from the left and right wings. Generals He Yong and Hu Le, with disheveled hair, were panting heavily, with faces full of fear, and no longer had the same majestic look as before.
While they were blocking them for a moment, the central army of Daliang City had already retreated along the official road. Lu Daiyuan took a quick look and saw that more than half of his 40,000 troops had been killed. He felt a pain in his heart and his eyes went dark. He almost fell off his horse.
Holding the reins tightly in his hands, he immediately shouted, urging the entire army to retreat to the main camp, to form a circular formation on the east and west sides of the river, and to support the cavalry in the rear.

In a moment,
The defeated imperial army retreated in haste. The cavalry of Jia Lian, Kang Mengyu and others, together, had more than 30,000 men. Unfortunately, with nearly 150,000 troops pressing forward from behind, their range of movement was reduced. As a last resort, they led their troops to retreat and quickly returned to the camp along the official road.

The troops who were to withdraw last were actually in the front. Seeing the main army retreating, Dong Dawang and Peng Shiying quickly ordered their men to stop them and then retreated. They relied on the barricades to continue fighting the enemy.

But the Taiping Sect's troops kept gathering.
Zuo Ling's 70,000 troops were already approaching, and Du Hufa's 40,000 troops were following. Looking at the simple camp in front, Zuo Ling's face turned cold and he ordered;

"The archers will provide cover, the heavily armored troops will march forward in formation, and the spearmen will follow to break through the enemy camp."

"Yes, Left Protector."

A burst of drums sounded, and 40,000 soldiers formed a battle formation and began to advance forward in formation.

This scene,
In the valley of the woods on the east side of the camp, Chai Qing, the former general of the left guard of the crown prince, looked at the increasing number of Taiping Sect troops below with some disbelief. They had already begun to attack the imperial camp. He had seen Wang Ziteng's hasty retreat before. After four hours, an army of more than 100,000 people could not hold on at the most critical moment.
I admire His Highness's prediction. It seems that my ambush troops will not be used at all. But I have to go out. I remember His Highness' instructions, so I just pretend to go out. "Jiang Yong, you lead 30,000 troops and bring more archers. Go out and make a feint attack from the right side. Remember, you are not allowed to charge into the formation. You can only shoot with bows and arrows. Withdraw after half an hour. I will meet you here."

"Uh, yes, General,"

Jiang Yong was puzzled. Logically speaking, shouldn't the entire army rush over to wipe out the imperial army heading south in one fell swoop? Why did they do this?
While hesitating, Chai Qing saw him and patted Jiang Yong on the arm, explaining;

"This time we are only trying to ensure the defeat of the imperial army, not to kill them all. Especially Wang Ziteng cannot die here. You must remember that what His Highness wants is balance. If the imperial army is gone, the Taiping Cult will definitely be the only one in power. They are not short of people. There are millions of refugees in the south of Beijing under their control. Don't you see that there are hundreds of thousands of slave soldiers under the city of Linshan County? Even if they just waste their energy, they will kill you."

This is what Chai Qing feared the most. The so-called slave army were those unarmed refugees who were bewitched by the evil people of the Taiping Sect. They charged forward fearlessly with a long knife, and were even willing to die together with their loved ones. They were madmen who were not afraid of death at all. Which general would not feel headache and fear when encountering them?

Jiang Yong's face turned cold after hearing this.

"Don't worry, General. I know what to do."

He clasped his fists and prepared to leave.
immediately,

On the hillside, a large army battle formation appeared, waving flags and shouting as they slowly descended the mountain. This was quite a commotion, and the troops from both sides at the foot of the mountain saw it. Du Shaoqing immediately ordered the right camp to form a battle formation, but upon closer inspection, the people who came were also familiar faces. The prince's troops only came here in this manner, so they might as well steal the credit.
"Du Hufa, who is coming?"

Zuo Ling had already sent the pursuing troops to form a formation to guard against the troops coming from the right mountain. In his heart, he didn't quite believe that Wang Ziteng would leave an ambush.

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"Don't worry, the people coming are from His Highness. Tsk tsk, it doesn't matter whether these people come or not."

Du Shaoqing curled his lips and didn't take these people seriously at all. A mere 30,000 troops, no matter how elite they were, would be useless. Only Zuo Ling narrowed his eyes and looked at the distant hillside, where there were faintly banners and flags, and shook his head.

"You are worthy of being the former crown prince, Du Hufa, you guessed wrong. There must be a lot of people coming. If the battle situation is not favorable for me, he will definitely send troops. If he wins, there will be tens of thousands of people in front of us. Look at the back of the hillside, there are flags everywhere, it won't be just these people."

Du Hufa's face froze, and he looked up. Sure enough, there were birds flying in the woods, and there were faint flags standing behind the hillside, with a murderous aura rising. It was obvious that there must be an ambush here.

"What the Left Protector said is very true. We must be on guard against the enemy. In this case, our troops will form a circle and stand on the right side to guard against the enemy. You will lead the troops that come later and continue to attack the main camp."

"good!"

After the two men reached an agreement, the Taiping Sect's offensive became more fierce. The troops of Hexi and Hedong counties struggled to hold out, suffering heavy casualties.
"Report, General Ji, General Lu, General Dong and General Peng are still fighting hard in the front. Please ask the old general to revitalize the camp and prepare for support."

"Report, General Ji, General Lu, there are about 30,000 ambushed soldiers behind the hillside on the right. Please give the order, old general."

"Report, General Jie, General Lu, the Taiping Sect reinforcements have arrived,"

Inside the big tent, Wang Ziteng sat with a pale face, his mind still not calmed down from the shock, and the generals below were even more frightened, especially Wang Ren and Jia Lian, who had not recovered at all, they were defeated.

I thought it was safe to return to camp for the time being,

But from the looks of it, the Taiping Cult wants to kill us all.

"Everyone, what should we do now that we have been defeated?"

Wang Ziteng finally suppressed his fear. The people of the Taiping Sect were all crazy. He was to blame for the fight. Thinking of the secret letter from the emperor, he came to his senses. The only way to survive was to preserve the remaining troops and withdraw to Daliang City to hold out and wait for help.

"General, we have lost this battle. We must withdraw our troops and ensure the safety of Daliang City. Otherwise, even if we are sentenced to death, it will not make up for it."

Lu Daiyuan now sees the most clearly. If they lose, they lose. They must ensure the safety of Daliang City for the sake of the Lu family's foundation.

When General Lu spoke, the generals below also came back to their senses and expressed their agreement, especially He Yong and Hu Le, who were covered in blood and gasping for breath. Almost all of their soldiers were killed or wounded, with less than a thousand men, and they were considered to be generals without troops.

Hu Le quickly stood up and urged, time waits for no one,
"General Jie, General Lu is right. We cannot stay here for long. We should withdraw our troops first and save Daliang City."

"Yes, General Jie, although we lost this battle, the enemy suffered greater casualties. Unfortunately, those monsters are so powerful that we cannot defeat them at the moment."

He Yong was also a little frightened. Thinking back to the battlefield, those Taiping Sect members were so crazy and fearless that they were not afraid of death. Even a heartless person would be moved. It was comparable to the White Lotus Sect back then.

"Okay, in that case, the whole army will retreat. Jia Lian, Wang Ren, Kang Mengyu, lead the cavalry to replenish arrows and set up sulfur, oil and fire in the camp. After Peng Shiying and Dong Dawang's troops have withdrawn, set fire to the camp to delay the enemy and buy time."

Looking at the frightened faces below, Wang Ziteng said with sorrow in his eyes;
"I am responsible for this battle. I will report all the credits you deserve and withdraw the troops tonight and return to Daliang City."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."

Lu Daiyuan opened his mouth and sighed helplessly.

After a while, there was movement in the camp. The northern gate opened, and the withdrawing infantry, after a simple reorganization, headed north.

In the camp,

Jia Lian's troops had already poured sulphur kerosene around the forage tents and set traps, and immediately withdrew with General Dong and General Peng.

The two generals had already been unable to hold on any longer. Upon hearing the order, they immediately ordered the army to turn around and retreat to the camp. Relying on the familiar roads, they got out of Beiyingkou first.

I saw people coming out.

A sinister smile flashed across Kang Mengyu's lips.
"Rockets ready, aim at the main camp, scatter, fire."

At the command, nearly 30,000 rockets rushed into the camp and ignited the fire starters. In a short while, the whole camp was ablaze with smoke billowing. The Taiping sect members who were chasing them were as confused as hamsters, not knowing how to get out. The hall master who followed behind shouted,
"We've fallen into a trap, retreat quickly,"

The rear army withdrew, while the front army rushed out of the north camp gate, but was killed by the cavalry led by Wang Ren. It was a pity for those who were chased around the big tent. The road was unclear due to the thick smoke, and flames rose all around. Soon, they became innocent souls in the fire.

Seeing this, Zuo Ling's eyes widened and he shouted loudly;
"Thieves, I will never forgive you!"

Jiang Yong, who arrived in a hurry, led his troops away in a hurry. The camp was burned down, so what was there to fight for!
(End of this chapter)