Chapter 148: Concern Leads to Chaos (IV)
Jinan, the city of springs. A famous city in northern China. At this time, there was a rumble of artillery fire on the top of the city wall. Hu Haoran, who was in charge of logistics and was in charge of observation, could not help but sigh.
Qian Qing glared at him and said, "Don't be so impatient. There is plenty of gunpowder in the city."
Hu Haoran immediately expressed his regret, "Sister, we can't get into the city now."
Qian Qing really didn't dare to let this person think any further, "Okay, I just don't want you to attract other people's attention. We all know about this!"
The Han army, like the Qing army, is a highly firearms-based army. Even more firearms-based than the Qing army. Huo Chong has been well prepared in terms of gunpowder and firearms in recent years, so much so that the Han army has recently conducted a large number of live ammunition shootings.
That's why Hu Haoran, who was in charge of logistics, was so distressed. He was not distressed by the Qing army's random firing of artillery in Jinan City, but he was distressed that the spoils of war would plummet with these bombardments that were only for the sake of daring.
Just as he was about to say a few more words, the people from the reconnaissance company came over and handed a document to Qian Qing. Hu Haoran couldn't help but want to come over to take a look, but Qian Qing's face sank, "Discipline, discipline!"
Don't ask if you shouldn't know, and try to remember what you should hear. This is one of the disciplines that the Han army constantly emphasizes. Although Hu Haoran was full of curiosity, he had to stop trying after being glared at by Qian Qing.
Qian Qing stopped observing the enemy and went back to the headquarters. Everyone in the headquarters also knew the news, and many people were at a loss. After all, there were 4,000 troops, and they were coming from the rear. Just thinking about the possibility of being attacked from both sides, it would be strange if they were not worried.
"They moved so quickly. Interesting." Qian Qing was relaxed.
"Commander Qian, Xie Cili is quite smart." Lei Hu was also a little nervous.
"Smart ass. If Xie Cilu doesn't hurry up and continues to move south, we will be in a passive position. Sun Tzu's Art of War is right: to make the enemy come to you is to benefit him; to prevent the enemy from coming to you is to harm him."
At this stage, the only subordinates of Huo Chong who can use classical Chinese proficiently are Qian Qing and Lei Hu. Lei Hu was shocked after hearing this. Looking at the confused expressions of other commanders, Lei Hu was about to ask when he heard Qian Qing continue: "We have made preparations for the attack. Xie Cilü actually ran hundreds of miles to come here to be beaten. We have saved a lot of trouble. That paragraph just now was about this."
Lei Hu liked Qian Qing very much, and after hearing this, he even had some respect for him. Whether or not they could defeat Xie Cilü's 4,000 Qing troops was another matter, but Qian Qing's clear description of the impact of Xie Cilü's advance on the Han army was remarkable.
Xie Cilu had no idea that Huo Chong's men were just feinting at Jinan, and he had no idea that the enemy's target was actually the 4,000 Qing troops he led. Xie Cilu even thought that Huo Chong himself was leading his bandits to attack Jinan, and he was looking forward to the upcoming battle.
Jinan City was not so easy to capture. Xie Cilu, who loved reading, believed that Huo Chong had fallen into the desperate situation often described in history books: "There was a strong city in front and pursuers behind." If Xie Cilu used his swiftness to quickly get behind Huo Chong, he could easily annihilate the bandit army. Then, he could chase after them and completely wipe out the bandit army that had been disturbing Shandong for several months.
The agreement with Li Shude and the article from Yongzheng were no longer the basis for Xie Cilü's consideration. General Xie believed that he had all the advantages and all he needed to do was to charge forward and seize victory.
Since the march speed was accelerated, making fire and cooking would greatly delay the time. Fortunately, there was an official road, and as soon as General Xie Cilu's troops entered the official road, they began to "requisition" food from the people.
To be more precise, the Qing army took whatever they saw, and looted restaurants and shops. Since the officers led the team personally, they had to share some of the looted items with their men. Now they didn't have to cook, and the Qing army found it very convenient.
The central army was eating the stolen goods while walking, but saw some shopkeepers with wounds on their faces coming up to complain with a smile. The officers of the central army were furious. The front army robbed these merchants, so why did the merchants come to the central army to cause trouble?
Punching, kicking, and stabbing with gun handles, the merchants, who had new injuries, ran away crying as they were beaten and scolded by the officers of the Central Army.
General Xie Cilu, who was riding in a sedan chair with eight men, felt sorry for the scene. He stopped the sedan chair and sent someone to scold them. But the entire Qing army was advancing to obey General Xie Cilu's order to advance at full speed, so scolding them once or twice was useless.
In the end, even the sedan bearers were considerate enough to "help" Lord Xie close the curtains of the sedan so that Lord Xie would not be disturbed by the slight disturbance outside.
Lord Xie Cilu loved reading and had a sharp mind. He knew that nothing could be perfect since ancient times, and a lack of patience would ruin a great plan. He could only sympathize with these suffering merchants. He hated Huo Chong, who caused this incident, even more. If Huo Chong had not rebelled, how could such a bad thing have happened? Once Huo Chong was caught, he would cut him and his men into pieces to avenge the people.
The shop of merchant Gao Mingshan was also kicked open, and it was empty inside. It turned out that he had closed the shop. The Qing soldiers who kicked the door in cursed a few words and left in dismay.
Gao Mingshan saw from afar that the Qing army did not burn the house. He patted his chest, looked up at the sky, and muttered: "Thank God!"
He was in the axle business and had very close business dealings with Huo Chong. Gao Mingshan was very surprised to hear that Huo Chong, who had always been law-abiding and never bullied others, was forced to rebel. But Huo Chong was too rich, so Gao Mingshan couldn't help but feel a little gloating in his surprise. Seeing the misfortunes of many people, it is inevitable to feel that "you have suffered the same fate".
However, Gao Mingshan received a message from Mr. Huo yesterday, which was only aimed at merchants who had a good relationship with Mr. Huo. Mr. Huo's people asked them to temporarily close their stalls to prevent the Qing army from looting when they came.
Gao Mingshan was indeed a little jealous that Huo Chong, a craftsman, could have become an official, and because of this, Gao Mingshan did not dare to look down on Huo Chong. After thinking about it, Gao Mingshan moved the things that night.
At this time, Gao Mingshan was not only happy about his own judgment, but also felt less alienated from Huo Chong. Even at this time, Master Huo still had someone else in his heart.
The miserable state of the shops on both sides of the official road brought Gao Mingshan back to reality from his thoughts. Gao Mingshan straightened his clothes in fear. It seemed that if there were more soldiers passing by, he would have to listen to Master Huo. He must not have any contact with these government officials.
It was dark, and the clouds obscured the already slender crescent moon. Eight hundred Han troops were marching in the mountains. Qian Qing walked in front, wearing the field watch given by Huo Chong.
There weren't many people walking here, and it was so dark. The soldiers were like the eagle catching the chicken in the game, grabbing the backpacks of their comrades in front and moving forward in the dark. Qian Qing, the leader of this team, raised his wrist from time to time to look at the direction of the pointer on the luminous dial.
Qian Qing was extremely impressed by the skilled craftsman who could create such an exquisite object. In the past few days, according to the "trial and error" principle taught by Huo Chong, Qian Qing tried it dozens or even hundreds of times in different situations, and found that the outdoor sports watch on his wrist was really reliable.
With this thing in hand, you don't have to worry about getting lost even in the pitch-dark night, and you don't have to worry about getting the time wrong whether it's day or night.
The eight hundred troops marched at night. Normally, the torches they lit and the various inquiries they made would be enough to attract the attention of people several miles or even ten miles away. But now they were able to quietly pass through the mountains at a conspicuous height.
Qian Qing not only became more and more confident in the victory of the battle, but also felt relieved that Mr. Huo was willing to hand over such a treasure to him. He had decided to follow Mr. Huo Chong for his whole life, and what he feared most was that Mr. Huo would not treat him in the same way. Just from this one thing, Qian Qing felt his position in Huo Chong's heart.
Most of the newly established Han army was led out of the core territory of the Han regime by Qian Qing. At this time, the Han-controlled area not only had to face the counterattack of the gentry, but also the attack of Li Shude's army, which was very lacking in intelligence. Perhaps Huo Chong needed this treasure more.
Even if it is because of Mr. Huo's trust in his life, this battle must be won cleanly and efficiently!
At dawn, Xie Cilu's troops, who had been running wildly on the official road for two or three days, were exhausted. Although the government troops were running fast, those unscrupulous merchants somehow ran faster than the government troops. They only requisitioned for two days along the way, and on the third day, no one opened the doors of the shops they saw. After kicking the doors open, they found that everything inside had been moved out. Not a single hair was left.
Some officers were so angry that they directly ordered the house to be burned!
The officers were not necessarily angry because the merchants came to ask for money after they took their goods. What made the officers angry was that these people dared to deliberately not provide food and drink for the government troops. Didn’t they know that the government troops were fighting?
In the early morning, it took a lot of time to cook. Amid the smoke and fire, the government troops finally started to eat.
The scouts who had conducted a large-scale investigation under the strict order of General Xie Cilu came back exhausted. They didn't understand what was wrong with General Xie Cilu to care so much about a group of bandits. The scouts had already conducted the greatest possible investigation ahead and arrested many suspicious people, but there was not a single bandit.
Just as they were about to start eating, they suddenly heard someone shouting in the back, and a moment later, gunshots rang out. The Qing soldiers who heard the gunshots didn't know what was going on. Why were gunshots fired in the back?
Xie Cilü was perhaps the first person among the 4,000 Qing troops to realize the seriousness of the situation. What Yongzheng showed Xie Cilü was really taken to heart by Xie Cilü. Huo Chong's evaluation of "erratic use of troops and solid combat" was really a high compliment. When the rear troops of the Qing army were hit hard and fled along the official road, Xie Cilü had to consider that this surprise force was a concrete manifestation of Huo Chong's "erratic use of troops".
"Order each team to converge with the central army!" Lord Xie Cili gave the order.
The hungry and thirsty messengers conveyed orders to each team along the official road. The teams of officers and soldiers did not even have time to eat breakfast before they took action.
Xie Cilu commanded the central army to barely take in the fleeing rear troops, and used the red cannons they carried to fiercely bombard the bandit troops chasing the Qing army's rear troops. Finally, they repelled the bandit army's attack.
At this time, other Qing troops had already rushed back to the central army, and each team had to redeploy along the official road, and the situation became even more chaotic.
Qian Qing was on the other side of the ambush hillside ridge, watching the Qing army in front of her in a mess like she was herding sheep, and she knew the time had come. She stood up and shouted to the big Han soldier behind her: "Raise the flag!"
The flag bearer stood up from his hiding place and raised the red flag high beside Qian Qing.
Turning back, Qian Qingming said, "Blow the charge! Kill!"
Immediately, Qian Qing was the first to carry out his own orders, holding a rifle and launching an attack on the Qing army that was in chaos at the foot of the mountain.
The charge bugle sounded loudly, and under the guidance of red flags along the way, the soldiers followed their commanders and launched a charge towards the Qing army.
Xie Cilu also saw the bandits running down the hillside like wolves and tigers, and was stunned for a moment. The general of Dengzhou Town had no idea that so many bandits were hiding under his nose.
