Chapter 11: Poisonous Smoke Strikes Back

Before dawn, Feng Shaoguang led 4,500 Heavenly Kingdom soldiers to Liumeitang, which was not far from Lingyidu. In addition to the 4,000 soldiers promised by the Heavenly King www.biquge.info Feng Shaoguang also asked Liang Litai to lead the newly expanded Second Army to participate in the battle together, and train the new formation of the people with actual combat.

After a short rest, it was already dark. In the distance, on the edge of the Xiangjiang River, a lion-shaped ridge two or three hundred meters high has revealed its hideous outline.

According to the reconnaissance of the spies, Feng Shaoguang looked at the nearby terrain and knew that Jiang Zhongyuan was going to ambush the passing ships of the Xiangjiang River, which was a good ambush place on the lion-shaped mountain, which was condescending and convenient for firearms to attack. In addition, the east side of the mountain range is close to the river, which is a steep cliff, and once the river fleet wants to counterattack, it can only go up the mountain, and the terrain is very favorable. If you let the soldiers of the Heavenly Kingdom rashly and forcibly attack the mountain, although there are many people who can win, they will also suffer heavy losses, and the gains will outweigh the losses. However, when he came, he had expected this, and not only brought out all the shotguns and guns, but also brought a small number of light earth and mountain cannons. He also ordered the rear army, the officers and men of the left army, and the female battalion of the rear army to carry a total of 3,000 half-dried oleander branches, and prepared to carry out poisonous smoke tactics at the upwind of the ambush place of the Qing demon.

Then, Feng Shaoguang gave the battle order.

Qin Rigang, the prime minister of Tianguanzheng, led an army of 600 people to make a detour and ambush between the mountain roads to Taipingpu, and set up two lines of defense to intercept the deserters;

ordered Zeng Jinqian, the commander of the 1st Army on the right, to lead 1,000 people of the right army to set up a position in the north of the lion-shaped mountain ridge;

Shi Xiangzhen led the 1,000 men of the Left Army to set up a position on the west side of the mountain range, and prepared shotguns and spears;

ordered Lin Fengxiang, the guard of the Imperial Forest, to lead a thousand people in the front army to spread his pockets and line up in the south of the lion-shaped mountain ridge with relatively gentle terrain;

He ordered the commander of the Second Left Army, Luo Xuan, to lead 800 people of the Second Left Army as a mobile force, scattered and ambushed in the northwest and southwest corners, and reinforced all units at any time.

Then, Li Kaifang, the acting general of the Second Army, was ordered to take charge of the military affairs of the battlefield, and led more than 2,000 people from the Second Army, the Nanwang Guard's Battalion and the Auxiliary Women's Army, carrying oleander branches, and preparing to burn and smoke the entire lion-shaped mountain while the battle was taking place.

Bang, bang, bang... Suddenly, the sound of gunfire sounded on the side of the Xiangjiang River, and then the artillery on the lion-shaped mountain ridge also opened fire violently, and the rumbling sound became one, and the fist-sized iron cannon projectiles flew down from the mountainside, some hit the big trees, and the waist was cut off, and more than a dozen Taiping soldiers were killed and injured.

It turned out that there were hundreds of Qing demons lying in ambushes and grass on the bank of the river, and when the right flank of the front army spread out to the shore, they were discovered by the Qing demons and took the lead in firing, and the Qing demons on the mountain ridge also attacked with mountain cannons down the mountain. For a while, the sound of gunfire was loud, Lin Fengxiang saw that the Qing demon firearms were dense, and ordered the soldiers to hide, and while returning fire with bird guns, he set up artillery to bombard the enemy troops in the grass by the river.

Li Kaifang took advantage of the battle in front of him, and ordered the soldiers and female soldiers of the rear army to place the oleander bunches on the south wind outlet, quickly ignite them, and then place wet grass around them to make them smoke, and the smoke was billowing for a while, and the breeze blew onto the lion-shaped mountain.

After a while, Lin Fengxiang and Luo Xuan saw the smoke coming up the mountain, blocking the sight of the Qing Demon on the mountain, and the sound of the cannon on the mountain was much sparse, so they shouted, "Chong, kill all the Qing Demon for me!" He led more than 1,500 people to rush to the foot of the southeast mountain, cutting off the retreat of the Qing demon in the grass on the bank of the river back to the mountain, and separating the Qing demon from the top of the mountain and the bottom of the mountain.

Seeing that the hundreds of Qing demons by the river were besieged, and the mountain was blocked by smoke and could not be supported, they rushed to the side of the mountain under the leadership of a short and strong Qing general.

Lin Fengxiang and Luo Xuan led the troops to wait for the Qing Demon to approach, and ordered to fire. I saw a salvo of shotguns, and there was a miserable scream on the opposite side, and more than thirty or forty Qing soldiers fell to the ground and struggled. After a round of fire, the Qing soldiers quickly rushed to the front, the Taiping army left 300 shotguns and artillery men behind to prevent being attacked by the enemy on both sides, and the rest of the more than 1,000 Heavenly Kingdom soldiers under the leadership of Lin Fengxiang and Luo Xuan, each with swords and spears, fiercely killed the enemy. Li Kaifang, Lu Qi, Chen Defeng and others also led more than 800 people from the Second Army and the Nanwang personal guard to rush over from the southern wasteland, and the killing shouts soared to the sky for a while.

When the Qing army saw the Taiping army rushing out on the side, they also released a round of musket rockets, shooting and wounding nearly 20 Taiping soldiers, and the forwards of the two armies rushed together, and the sound of swords and spears hitting each other, and the sound of knives and spears piercing into the flesh were endless.

The short and strong Qing was stabbed in the left arm by the Taiping sergeant with a spear, but he was extremely brave, and with his right hand, he slashed the Taiping sergeant to death, pulled out the spear and threw it hard, and pierced a two heavenly horses wrapped in a red scarf. But more and more soldiers of the Taiping Army rushed up, and the short and strong Qing generals were injured in more than ten legs, and their strength was weak. He cut down a few more people, and he saw that there were fewer and fewer soldiers around him who followed him, and the Taiping army was cutting more and more, and he couldn't help but show a desperate look.

"I want to have all my skills Jiang Zhongjun, so I went out with my cousin to fight for fame, and I don't want to die in the hands of Guangxi Changmao today. Anyway, the only one who dies! After speaking, he struggled to block the spear stabbed by the Taiping army, and just wanted to cut off his neck with a backhand, but he was stabbed in the right hand by a spear, and the big knife fell to the ground, and then he was pressed to the ground by three people.

The one who held the gun was a teenager, it was Chen Yucheng, the two Sima Chen Yucheng who were transferred from the Boy Scout Army to the Nanwang Guard Battalion, and one next to him was holding a bloody long knife, which was indeed Tan Shaoguang, the head of the Guard Battalion.

At this time, the Qing Demon on the mountain ridge heard the sound of shouting and killing, and directly attacked the place where the rush and killing were most intensive, and even fought below despite their own people, and it is estimated that they also knew that after the hundreds of people below were surrounded by a large group of Taiping troops, they must be more than lucky. Not only the brothers under the mountain, but even themselves on the mountain, this time they were also more auspicious.

A sturdy middle-aged man surrounded by several people on the mountain, dressed in a four-grade official uniform embroidered with clouds and geese, was Jiang Zhongyuan, the alternate prefect of the Qing army. He couldn't figure out how an ambush he had carefully planned could be discovered.

A scholar next to him was dressed as a man, but it was his staff member Liu Changyou, who was born in Xinning Gongsheng, and was persuading Jiang Zhongyuan to go down the mountain from the north to break through. The people around him were Jiang Zhongyuan's third brother Jiang Zhongji, fourth brother Jiang Zhongshu and clan brothers Jiang Zhongyi and Jiang Zhongxin, who also advised the eldest brother to order a breakthrough as soon as possible.

At this time, the mountain wind stopped, the woods were sweltering, and the sound of fighting under the mountain slowly dispersed, only intermittent crying and wailing, Jiang Zhongyuan knew that the more than 300 Xinning soldiers under the mountain should have been wiped out.

Liu Changyou hurriedly said: "Minqiao, if you don't kill the mountain to break through at this time, when will you wait?" ”

Jiang Zhongyuan said: "Long hair is menacing and there are many people. The three sides of the mountain must be surrounded, our army rushes first, and the long hair occupies the terrain to ambush, and our army will inevitably suffer heavy casualties! There are not many of my Chu Yong soldiers, they are all neighbors of Xinning Township, and Zhongyuan cannot risk breaking through and burying all the neighbors and brothers here. These smokes are just long hairs that block our vision, so we don't have to be afraid. Persisting in patience for a while, Admiral Yu Wanqing Yu, and Lord He Chunhe led their troops to be stationed in Taipingpu, only three or four miles away from here, and when they heard the gunshots, they would definitely come to support. Besides, I have sent a letter to Lord He yesterday, asking for the joint extermination of the long-haired rebels, and I will soon lead troops to rescue me. ”

Jiang Zhongyuan was just comforting everyone, but in fact, he wasn't sure if Hechun would send troops over. Moreover, what he didn't know was that Yu Wanqing, the governor of Hunan who was originally stationed in Taipingpu, led more than 3,000 troops to retreat to Daozhou early yesterday morning, and He Chun also led his 6,000 Qing troops to the north to garrison Huangsha Hewei, and together with Sun Yingzhao, the general soldier of Yongzhou Town, who had previously defended there, wanted to intercept the Taiping army from entering Hunan.

Jiang Zhongyuan wanted to wait, and wait until the Taiping army took the initiative to attack the mountain, then he could be condescending, take advantage of the favorable terrain and fire guns and cannons, and then cover all the way to break through, and even defeat the Taiping army.

Jiang Zhongxin suddenly asked again: "Long Mao is setting off smoke under the mountain, so he doesn't want to burn the mountain with fire, right?" Brother, do you want me to take someone to cut down the firewood and grass around here and clean up a bare field so that you don't get burned to death? ”

"Faithfulness is thoughtful. Now in April, the trees in the mountains are lush and damp, and there is plenty of moisture to burn. Liu Changyou on the side replied.

"That's good. It's just a little smoke, and at most it's uncomfortable to choke! Jiang Zhongxin was a lot relieved, with Xinning Chuyong's bravery, it was not so difficult to break through.

Here, Lin Fengxiang, Luo Xuan, and Li Kaifang stabbed all the Qing soldiers who were still struggling and wailing on the wasteland at the foot of the mountain with knives and spears, and stabbed all the Qing soldiers to death.

The Qing soldiers still fired artillery at the bottom of the mountain intermittently, but the smoke was entwined between the woods on the mountainside, and the specific location of the Taiping army could not be seen clearly, and the lethality was not great.

Li Kaifang saw that all the Qing troops under the mountain were annihilated, and there was basically no wind at the foot of the mountain, so he led the soldiers and female soldiers of the rear army to surround the foot of the mountain with oleander bunches, all of which lit the smoke. The Taiping army, which had originally set up a position at the foot of the mountain, also retreated, dragging small artillery, away from the smoke, and then set up an ambush.

More than 2,000 bundles of oleander bunches were incompletely burned and the smoke was produced along the mountain ridge more than 200 meters high, and after a while, it was approaching the ambush and hiding place of the Qing army on the mountain range. Jiang Zhongyuan covered his mouth and nose with his clothes, looked at Liu Changyou, who was choking and coughing repeatedly, and then looked at the younger brothers on both sides who were holding their faces flushed, and understood that the Taiping army wanted to force them out with smoke, and would not take the initiative to attack the mountain for the time being. He pondered for a moment, and finally ordered: "That's it, you all rush with me and break through to the northwest corner." ”

After speaking, Jiang Zhongyuan asked his cousin Jiang Zhongxin to hold his staff member Liu Changyou, take the lead, and take the lead in rushing down the mountain.

After running dozens of steps, everyone found that hares and mountain rats appeared in the woods one after another, rolling in horror in the woods and grass, and even foaming at the mouth. Jiang Zhongyuan and the Qing soldiers suddenly felt that something was wrong, and at this time there was something wrong with their own bodies, some people felt dizzy and nauseous, some felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, their whole bodies were weak, and the smoke around them made people breathless. The Jiang brothers and the soldiers slowly stopped, gasping for breath, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Liu Changyou was a little familiar with medical science, he himself was dizzy and wanted to vomit, and among the people who forced him to suppress him, his face changed greatly, and he said eagerly to Jiang Zhongyuan in front of him: "This smoke is poisonous!" Minqiao, we are afraid that we will all die here this time. Ahem! Hateful long-haired, unusually vicious, coughing ...... cough cough cough ...... There is such a ferocious and vicious method, and we don't know it when we are trapped in the mountains. ”

Jiang Zhongyuan also felt that his situation was wrong, and when he heard this, he turned his head suddenly, his face turned pale, and said sadly: "I, Jiang Zhongyuan, have a little bit of Wen Tao's early martial arts strategy, train soldiers and neighbors, and originally wanted to assist the imperial court and achieve a great cause, but I didn't want to underestimate the enemy today and suffer this fiasco." It's a pity that it has affected my brothers, friends and neighbors, and now Zhongyuan has only one death, and you will repay it in the next life. After that, he wanted to swing his knife and kill himself.

Jiang Zhongji hurriedly blocked it and persuaded: "Brother, don't do such a stupid thing!" As the saying goes, if you stay in the green mountains, you are not afraid of no firewood. Now that my Jiang family can thrive in Xinning, it is inseparable from you, brother! ”

Jiang Zhongyi hesitated, gritted his teeth and said, "Brother, Zhongyi has a saying, maybe you don't like to hear it, but I still have to say it." Is it worth it for us to work for the Manchurians like this? Brother, look at Lord Hechunhe, a reckless man who can't read big words, just because he is a Manchurian, he became an official and a commander. And brother, you are full of wealth, wisdom and bravery, and have made many military exploits, but now you are only an alternate prefect. After all, we are Han Chinese. ”

"Shut up!" Jiang Zhongyuan was stunned by Jiang Zhongyi's words. He never thought that one of his brothers would want to grow hair, even if it was in such a desperate situation, it was unforgivable to have such thoughts. "If you're afraid of death, go and grow your own hair. However, don't say that your surname is Jiang in the future, you are not from my Xinningjiang family! ”

Jiang Zhongyi's face was ashamed, and he didn't dare to say anything more.

Liu Changyou suddenly said: "Minqiao, maybe there is another way, from where we may be able to put it to death and live again." ”

Jiang Zhongxin jumped up and said, "What did Mr. say about the eastern cliff?" Yes, although dangerous, Longhair will certainly not ambush there. Also, as it is close to the river, the smoke will be much sparser. ”

Liu Changyou and Jiang Zhongyuan looked at each other and smiled, and for a while they put life and death out of the way.