The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 120: Failure (asking for monthly pass at the end of the month)

Under the moonlight, the old general Yin Lipei was riding his horse towards a slightly loose, moving Taiping Army formation.
Unlike Fu Cheng, the general of Xi'an Town, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and rose to prominence by relying on the influence of his ancestors, Yin Lipei was just the son of a minor official in the Green Camp of Gansu and Shaanxi. It cannot be said that he had no influence at all, otherwise he would have starved to death in a remote place in Gansu! But what his ancestors could pass on to him was not much.

He is similar to Xiang Rong, both of them relied on their ancestral Green Camp status to get a job with royal rations that would not fill them up but would not starve them to death, but he was not willing to accept that!
He was skilled in martial arts and could beat ten people when he was young. How could he be willing to be a Green Camp soldier for his whole life? So after joining the army, he really tried his best to climb up! He first earned merits with his sword and gun, fought against the Tianli Sect and Zhang Geer, fought back and forth in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, climbed on ice and snow, and was not afraid of dangers. Finally, he climbed to the position of garrison.

Next, he tried his best to make money, taking advantage of the vacancies and draining the blood of the soldiers. He would send the silver he got to the boss of the Ministry of War, thinking of buying, no, "renting" a high-ranking official.

But despite working so hard, he only managed to get promoted to deputy general in the end, because he simply couldn't afford to go any higher!

In order to "rent" a lieutenant general, Yin Lipei had exhausted his savings of many years, but later he suffered a loss from this lieutenant general - his predecessor was too greedy, took too many vacancies, and drank too much of the soldiers' blood. When it was his turn to take office, the troops almost mutinied, so he had to be less greedy to appease the soldiers.

But when I settled the bill in the end, I lost a lot!
Yin Lipei, like most of the officials who lost money in the Qing Dynasty, wanted to make a comeback. So he was determined to start a business with debts, but as a general with no big background, it was too easy for him to be "loyal and brave" and it was difficult for him to borrow money from the capital. Instead, he borrowed money from a Shaanxi merchant with whom he had a good relationship, and finally "rented" a deputy general of the Tongguan Association by using his own worth as collateral.

But this deputy general only has 1,500 soldiers, and the base of Tongguan Association is not a fertile place. How much can he gain from it?
Just when he was about to lose money again, the Taiping Rebellion finally became a big problem. Yin Lipei felt that his chance to make a comeback had finally come, so he excitedly borrowed another sum of money to fill the gap, and brought this group of "Green Camp elites" to Hunan.

But what disappointed Yin Lipei was that even when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had reached Changsha, few people in the Qing army were interested in suppressing the bandits. In the Eight Banners and the Green Camp, no one was organizing the army and preparing for war. All their attention was spent on deceiving each other, and in the end, they simply believed the lies themselves.

What Bull Demon King, what Satan, what Tongtian Sect Master? How can this be a war? It's just like telling a fairy tale!

Manchu officials such as Sai Shang'a, Shengbao, Yuanbao and Hechun were particularly enthusiastic about this. On the contrary, Han generals like Yin Lipei knew that something was wrong but did not dare to say it out loud, so they had to bite the bullet and take the blame for those useless Manchu masters.

Yin Lipei also recently got a copy of Volume 3 of "Anti-Classic", The Rebellion of Han Officials. He didn't know how it appeared on his desk. He had already read the book, which made a lot of sense, but was of little significance to him.

Because the Green Camp is not owned by soldiers for the generals, what a deputy general like him can really "own" in the army are just a few dozen Goshaha. What can he accomplish?
Therefore, the most miserable officer among all the armies in Changsha now is probably Yin Lipei, the Han Chinese Green Camp leader who leads hundreds or thousands of soldiers. He can neither rebel nor fight well, and he has to clean up the mess and take the blame for a group of Manchu masters. His suffering is really unequal.

Yin Lipei's thoughts turned very quickly. In a short period of time, he had figured out many problems. But what did it matter if he figured them out? Could it be that Sai Shang'a, Shengbao, Yuanbao, Hechun, Fucheng and other Manchus didn't understand?
Even if the Manchus are confused, people like Luo Bingzhang, Luo Raodian and Zeng Guofan are all smart people.

I'm afraid they all understand better than him, Yin Lipei, but they just see it and don't say it out loud!
This is probably the end of the country, right?

"Kill the Qing monsters! Divide the land"

A burst of shouting brought Yin Lipei's thoughts back to the battlefield. He found that he had rushed to a position very close to the Taiping Army's 1,000-man square formation. The Taiping Army's square formation had stopped advancing, and long spears stretched forward to form a spear formation that was quite strict. It seemed that they could not be attacked from the front.

Just as Yin Lipei was about to pull the reins and walk around the formation, he discovered an ugly man with a high forehead, a wide chin, and a horned helmet on his head. He was standing in front of the formation, holding a red flag in one hand and a torch in the other, looking very majestic.

On both sides of him, there were dozens of small fires made of torches, which illuminated his appearance clearly from a distance.

"Damn it, he really looks a bit like the Bull Demon King! Why not kill him with a sword?"

Yin Lipei thought to himself, "Damn it, everyone is lying, why should I pretend to be noble? Why not take his head back and say that I killed the Bull Demon King? Who knows if I can trick him into giving me a general?"

Thinking of this, Yin Lipei raised his saber and rushed towards the man.

However, facing Yin Lipei who was riding a horse and holding a saber, the man did not panic at all, nor did he try to escape. Instead, he threw away the torch, then knelt on one knee, prodding one end of the flagpole of the red flag in his hand into the ground and raising the tip of the gun upwards, forming an angle of about 40 degrees with the ground. The sharp tip of the gun was raised high, facing the belly of Yin Lipei's horse, waiting for it to hit him.

"He's such a damn warrior!"

Although he was an enemy, Yin Lipei couldn't help but praise him. However, he didn't intend to let him go, but slightly turned his horse's head, trying to rush past the enemy, avoid the tip of the spear, and kill him with a knife!

In order to prevent himself from rushing too fast and being unable to stop, thus crashing into the Taiping Army's spear formation, Yin Lipei also slowed down his horse's speed.

Just as he was about to succeed, Yin Lipei suddenly sensed a hint of extremely dangerous aura.

Suddenly, he saw a few fleeting sparks flashing in the spear formation in front of him!

Oh no, this is a hairy sharpshooter!
"Oh!"

With a dull thud, Yin Lipei felt himself hit heavily on the ground, and then he felt dizzy, and severe pain came from his chest, shoulders, and abdomen at the same time!

"bang bang bang"

Another burst of intensive gunfire rang out!

"Kill the Qing monsters! Go to heaven!"

"Kill the demons! Divide the land!"

"Moo."

The shouts of the Taiping soldiers and the calls of the frightened buffaloes mixed together and echoed throughout the battlefield!

Yin Lipei fell to the ground, feeling a little dazed, and lamented in his heart: "What a loss, what a loss, this official has cost me my life."

Changsha City, Huangdao Gate, the moon is bright and the stars are sparse, the night is hazy.

Shengbao, Luo Bingzhang, Luo Raodian, Zuo Zongtang and others had already known about the night battle between the Green Camp in Gansu and Shaanxi and the Taiping Army. They did not have time to rest, all dressed neatly, and climbed up the Huangdao Gate Tower together, looking towards the direction of Shimapu. Although it was dark and not very clear, they could only see groups of tiny lights coming quickly towards the Huangdao Gate in the night. They heard the shouts of "Kill the Qing monsters and go to heaven", "Kill the Qing monsters and divide the land" getting closer and closer, and the exclamation of "The Bull Demon King is coming" in Shaanxi accent. Who else did not know what was happening?
"We succeeded in luring the enemy!" In the flickering light of the torches, Zuo Zongtang happily bowed to Sheng Bao and said, "Sir Sheng, it seems that Changsha is the burial place of the Bull Demon!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Bingzhang nodded with a smile and said, "Great! Ke Zhai's plan will be successful! Ke Zhai, give the order! We will all follow your orders!"

Luo Raodian, who had a long, honest-looking horse face, stroked his beard and nodded with a smile: "Changmao really doesn't understand the art of war. He fell for your trick, Kezhai! Kezhai, give the order quickly!"

Shengbao was not a very capable character and was even nicknamed "Bai Bao" in history.

There are wrong names, but there are no wrong nicknames!

Just by looking at the name "Bai Bao", you can tell that he is the kind of guy who is both bad at playing and loves to play. Otherwise, if he only lost once or twice, he would not be worthy of this name!

However, this "defeatable man" has not yet been taught a lesson by the Taiping Army, and still thinks he is smarter than Zhuge Liang!
Look, the "Bull Demon King" of the Taiping Army really fell into the trap, right? He has been lured to the Huangdao Gate by the Gansu-Shaanxi Green Camp in Fucheng. Next, it depends on whether Tu Lama's holy bomb will work.

Even if the "holy bomb" doesn't work, it doesn't mean that his "Lord Defeat" military strategy is bad!
In addition, Luo Bingzhang, Luo Raodian, and the "Modern Bright" Zuo Zongtang, who was favored by Lin Zexu, now admire his military strategy of "defeating the adults", which also explains the problem.

Thinking that his years of military training had not been in vain, "Master Defeat" immediately became full of confidence, and he clasped his fists to the people around him and said, "Thank you all for your kindness. Today, I will be the commander-in-chief of the troops!"

Seeing that Shengbao took the blame consciously, Luo Bingzhang, Luo Raodian and Zuo Zongtang all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ke Zhai, I am willing to obey your orders!" Luo Bingzhang first politely clasped his fists, "Even if you want me to charge into battle, I will not say no."

Of course, Shengbao was not going to fight the Bull Demon King like Luo Bingzhang, so he smiled and said, "Ru Weng is still the governor of Hunan, so he can just guard the governor's office."

"I have received your order!" Luo Bingzhang clasped his fists and took Shengbao's order seriously, but he did not leave immediately. He still had to watch Luo Raodian, Luo Bingzhang, and Zuo Zongtang all take the order, so that if Emperor Xianfeng held them accountable in the future, the three of them could serve as witnesses for each other.

"Ke Zhai, Luo will also obey your orders."

Luo Raodian also smiled and clasped his fists.

He was also assisting in military affairs, and Shengbao was also assisting in military affairs, but he had just finished mourning and had not yet been assigned a formal official position. Shengbao was leading an army of 4,000 south, and he was a Manchu noble, so it was right for him to listen to Shengbao!

Luo Rao, also known as Su Xi, and like Zeng Guofan, are both outstanding officials from Hunan and the natural leader of Hunan gentry. Shengbao naturally couldn't let him take risks, so he politely said: "Mr. Su is a senior, how dare Shengbao call him a commander? I just ask Mr. Su to guard the Imperial Examination Hall and burn a few more incense sticks to the saint's tablet in the Imperial Examination Hall, and ask the saint's spirit in heaven to bless my Qing soldiers to kill the Western demons!"

"Order!"

The Hunan Imperial Examination Hall is right next to the Hunan Governor's Office. It is now the camp of local militia stationed in the city, with four to five thousand soldiers stationed there.

The next turn was Zuo Zongtang's. He didn't dare to be as arrogant as Luo Bingzhang and Luo Raodian and let Shengbao order him around - he had to get himself out of Huangdaomen and go to Gongyuan to control the four or five thousand militiamen, otherwise the Battle of Changsha would not be fought.

Zuo Zongtang then bowed and said respectfully, "Sir Sheng, there are still four to five thousand militiamen stationed in the Imperial Academy. Although they are all newly opened ragtag groups, they can still cheer for you. I will go and gather them for you and bring them to Huangdao Street."

"No need." Shengbao shook his head. "Ji Gao, leave some people to help Mr. Ru and Mr. Su guard the government office, and the rest of you gather at Liuyang Gate. Once there is thunder at Huangdao Gate, you lead your people out of Liuyang Gate to attack the Taiping Rebellion!"

As he spoke, his tone suddenly became heavy, his face full of pride: "We must win this battle and eradicate all the evil!"

"The late student has received the order!"

Seeing that Luo Bingzhang, Luo Raodian and Zuo Zongtang had all left, Shengbao turned around to look at Yuanbao, Wenxiang, Ronglu, Bai Siwen and the "foreign master" Tu Lama, and said with a smile: "Well, the Huangdao Gate is up to us! Yuanbao, Fu Zongzhen still left 1,500 Green Camp soldiers. Leave 500 of them to guard the Huangdao Gate Tower with me, and the rest are yours. You lead them to form a battle array on Huangdao Street. Remember, get some rubbish to block the road and keep the Taipings at bay for a while!"

"twitter!"

Yuan Bao joyfully took the token handed to him by his brother, and called his follower Ronglu to go and mobilize troops and deploy defenses together.

"Bochuan, Wensi."

Shengbao called Wenxiang and Bai Siwen again and said, "Go to the Jade Emperor Temple and fetch our 1,000 Beijing Bannermen. Remember to have them bring the 1,000 bombs. You two will each lead 500 men and ambush on both sides of Huangdao Street! When Yuanbao blocks the long-haired people, throw bombs at them!"

"twitter!"

Wen Xiang and Bai Siwen both responded loudly, then stepped forward to take the token.

Shengbao did not hand the token to the two men, but said seriously: "Tell those people to smoke enough foreign cigarettes. The battle of Huangdao Gate is related to the safety of the Qing Dynasty and the rise and fall of Manchuria. If our Eight Banners can become famous in the battle of Huangdao Gate, then the Anti-Scripture will not be able to deceive people, Luo Ruweng and Luo Suweng will be willing to be Manchuria's running dogs, and Zuo Jigao will also be used by me.

Otherwise."

Shengbao's words came to an abrupt end. He turned around and looked outside Changsha City. He only saw a patch of fire moving quickly in the darkness, getting closer and closer to Changsha City!

"Kill the Qing monsters and go to heaven! Kill the Qing monsters and divide the land!" The shouts were getting closer and louder.

Shengbao suddenly felt a little palpitation, as if something was wrong, and muttered in a low voice: "It came so fast!"

(End of this chapter)