The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 474: Whoever enters Beijing first will be the king! (Please subscribe and vote)
To the north of Baoying City, the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing’s central army.

The sound of gunfire, cannon fire, and shouts of killing came one after another, each one more fierce and louder than the last. On the battlefield north of Baoying City, the Taiping Army and the Qing Army had already been fighting on the left and right wings of the battle line. Yang Xiuqing and Xianfeng both placed heavy bets this time. After several increases in the bets, the total number of troops deployed by both sides in this stranglehold war has exceeded 60,000 and is approaching 70,000.

As for the situation on the battlefield, it has changed from the previous Qing army attack and Taiping army counterattack to the current Taiping army attack, trying to encircle the two wings of the Qing army, while the Qing army fights desperately and defends step by step!
Probably no one would have thought that after replacing the real Hong Xiuquan with a fake Hong Xiuquan, the combat effectiveness of the Taiping Army actually increased instead of decreased! Before, Yang Xiuqing had been playing very conservatively, preparing to rely on the defense line outside Baoying City and Emperor Xianfeng to slowly grind until Luo Yaoguo's troops went north by sea to harass the Beiyang ports, or simply landed somewhere to open up a new battlefield. Xianfeng would naturally withdraw his troops, and then he would pursue them and try to take Huai'an, Xuzhou, Haizhou and Anhui Province controlled by the Qing army. That would be enough to compete with Luo Yaoguo.

Unexpectedly, Hong Xiuquan was killed by his brother Ji Du without paying attention, and died before he could accomplish his great cause. This was a real pitfall for Yang Xiuqing. He wanted to learn from Cao Cao and use the emperor to control other kings, but in the end, it was like Cao Mengde went to Luoyang to take over Emperor Xian of Han, but before he could send Emperor Xian to Xu County, he was robbed and killed by the remnants of the Yellow Turbans on the way! Now he became the scapegoat for holding the emperor hostage.

And Yang Xiuqing now has to bear this huge blame!

Although when Hong Xiuquan was alive, Luo Yaoguo, Xiao Chaogui, Hong Xuanjiao and others wished that he would die sooner, but none of them dared to really do it. Luo Yaoguo had to spend two million taels of silver every year to support Hong Xiuquan, this annoying living ancestor. Why? It was because the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom recognized Hong Xiuquan as the second young master of God! He was the true lord of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Everyone could sideline him, seize his power, or treat him like a clay puppet, but if anyone really harmed him, he would become the public enemy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Even though Luo Yaoguo now has many followers and great power in his hands, he would not dare to do so.

As for secretly plotting to kill Hong Xiuquan, it was not easy to do it. Because Luo Yaoguo's power mostly came from his identity as an angel. Two of his three wives, Su Sanniang and Maria, believed that he was an "angel" and were devoted to him. So it was not easy for Luo Yaoguo to find someone to help him get rid of Hong Xiuquan. Even if he discussed it with others, he might be regarded as a fallen angel!
So he would rather spend 2 million a year to support this living ancestor to annoy him
But now, Hong Xiuquan died in Yang Xiuqing's army! The biggest problem Luo Yaoguo faced was successfully solved! Regardless of whether Hong Xiuquan's death was caused by Tianxiong Jidu, the blame could not be put on Luo Yaoguo.

And Yang Xiuqing must be held responsible for Hong Xiuquan's death no matter what!
Even if Yang Xiuqing took over the entire Jianghuai area and the areas of Xuzhou and Haizhou, Luo Yaoguo, Xiao Chaogui and Hong Xiujiao could still convene a national congress to settle accounts with him on the charge of failing to protect the Heavenly King.

Yang Xiuqing wanted to rely on the tens of thousands of troops in the central army and that little territory to fight against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's National Conference, but he had no chance of winning.

So now there is only one way out for him - whoever enters Beijing first will be the king!

As long as he defeated Emperor Xianfeng, entered Beijing, and destroyed the Qing Dynasty, he would be right no matter what. He could say that God had entrusted him with the task of destroying the Qing Dynasty and unifying the country.

Even if Luo Yaoguo and Xiao Chaogui still wanted to use Hong Xiuquan's death to deal with him, the worst that could happen would be a civil war in the Heavenly Kingdom. Everyone would have fought it out, and the winner would be the king and the loser would be the bandit.

In order to "become the Heavenly King whoever enters Beijing first", Yang Xiuqing had to severely strike the main force of the Qing demons led by Xianfeng outside Baoying City. Not to mention arresting Xianfeng to avenge Hong Xiuquan, he had to severely damage his troops, show the power of the Taiping Central Army, and establish a psychological advantage for the Taiping Central Army over the Qing Army.

Otherwise, once the fact that Hong Xiuquan had passed away could no longer be concealed, would his army still have the courage to march north to the Central Plains?

Therefore, without Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing had no choice but to fight desperately.

Therefore, Yang Xiuqing first asked his "fellow fierce general" Yang Fuqing and the tiger general Huang Wenjin to lead their troops to attack the two wings of the Qing army respectively, and then he invited Zhang Lexing, the ally of the Nian Army, whom he had invited from Huaibei at great expense, to his central army.

Zhang Lexing had led the Nian Army's Five Banners Cavalry to fight two battles against Senggelinqin's Mongolian Cavalry today. As soon as he got off the battlefield, he was invited to the central army by Yang Xiuqing. When he arrived, Yang Xiuqing was sitting on a throne with red eyes, listening to the reports of Li Shouchun and Fu Xuexian, the Shangshu of the East Palace.

"Your Highness, the Second and Third Divisions of Generals Yang and Huang have advanced one to two miles respectively, but the Qing Yao has sent in reinforcements. Now the two sides are fighting in front of the Qing Yao camp!"

"Your Highness, the First Division of the Central Army is also fighting with Qing Yao in the middle lane. They have already trapped Qing Yao in the middle lane. As long as the double-teaming on both wings is successful, they can eat up Qing Yao in the middle lane!"

Yang Fuqing and Huang Wenjin, who also knew that Hong Xiuquan had passed away, tried their best. Relying on their inferior forces, they forced the Qing army to retreat step by step, leaving corpses everywhere. They gradually completed the encirclement of the Qing army's two wings and turned the Qing army's center into a "salient".

But the Qing army also had Emperor Xianfeng behind them, so they had to fight to the death. Although they couldn't hold on, they didn't collapse. Moreover, Xianfeng kept sending in fresh troops to replace the tired and wounded soldiers. Relying on the advantage of having more soldiers, he clearly wanted to fight a war of attrition with Yang Xiuqing. However, by now, they were already at the end of their strength.

The Qing army was not the only one at the end of its strength, the Taiping army was also the same, it just depended on who could squeeze out a little more strength to throw in. Yang Xiuqing still had three forces that could be thrown in: one was his personal soldiers with swords and shields and the remaining troops of the First Division; the second was the two thousand female soldiers led by Daozi - Hong Xiuquan had a total of three thousand female soldiers, one thousand of which had already been put into battle; the third was Zhang Lexing's five-flag Nian Army cavalry - although they had already charged into battle several times, they obviously did not use their full strength.

Needless to say, Yang Xiuqing's own soldiers and the female soldiers led by Daozi were all willing to fight to the death, but their impact power could not be compared with that of the Nian Army's cavalry.

As long as the Nian Army cavalry was willing to fight hard, Yang Xiuqing would most likely win.

Moreover, Yang Xiuqing would have to pass through the Central Plains and head north to Yanyun, and he would need the support of the Nian Army!
Yang Xiuqing saw Zhang Lexing coming and quickly called him forward: "Brother Luo Xing, you came just in time. Now is the critical moment for our victory or defeat and survival!"

Zhang Lexing saw some tear marks on Yang Xiuqing's cheeks, and saw that Hong Xiuquan's personal female official Daozi, who was also known as Queen Niang, was standing behind Yang Xiuqing, with red eyes, as if she had just cried. His heart skipped a beat, and he knew that the rumors about Hong Xiuquan's death were probably true, and the one floating in the sky was probably a fake!
"This humble general pays homage to the Nine Thousand Year Old King of the East!"

Zhang Lexing was nervous, but he still knelt down and bowed to Yang Xiuqing according to the etiquette. Yang Xiuqing stood up and helped him up: "Please stand up quickly!"

Zhang Lexing stood up and hesitated for a moment: "Eastern King, Heavenly King..."

"He has passed away!" Yang Xiuqing did not hide it from him but told him the truth.

"What should I do?" Zhang Lexing was shocked but did not collapse. After all, he did not believe in the "Son of God".

"The Heavenly King's will. Whoever enters Beijing first will be the Heavenly King!" Yang Xiuqing grabbed Zhang Lexing's hand, with a sincere look on his face, "Luo Xing, are you willing to share great things with me?"

Zhang Lexing hesitated for only a moment before kneeling down again and bowing his head: "Lexing is willing to be the vanguard of His Majesty the Eastern King!"

Let’s do great things together with the King of the East!
When Hong Xiuquan was alive, he did not have this qualification. At that time, the only one who could work with Yang Xiuqing on important matters was "God's family"!
"Okay!" Yang Xiuqing nodded gently, "Li Shouchun, Fu Xuexian!"

"The general is here!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing's two ministers stepped out and bowed.

"I order you two to lead the sword and shield soldiers of the royal palace to attack with General Zhang and encircle Pingqiao Town!"

Pingqiao Town was the location of Xianfeng's rear camp. Not to mention being raided, even if it was surrounded, Xianfeng's main force would have to retreat from Baoying City.

Yang Xiuqing's sword and shield soldiers originally used swords and shields, but now they have long been a "dragoon regiment", which is an elite force equipped with M1851 short-barreled rifles and horses. Although there are not many people and their horsemanship is not very good, as long as Zhang Lexing's cavalry leads them, they can still exert great power.

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Lexing, Li Shouchun, and Fu Xuexian all took the order and left. Yang Xiuqing turned his head and looked at Daozi, and said with a firm face: "Daozi, it's time for us to go. I will go with you and the female soldiers of the Heavenly King Palace to avenge the Heavenly King!"

"Understood!" Daozi immediately knelt on one knee and received Yang Xiuqing's order, with tears of piety in his eyes.

"Hold on! Hold on! You must hold on!" In the Qing army camp, Emperor Xianfeng was a little doubtful about his life! How did Hong Xiuquan become so powerful after "dying once"? The Taiping rebels were already very powerful, but now they are simply crazy powerful. Not only are the male Taiping rebels unstoppable, but even the female Taiping rebels are extremely fierce. They actually rushed in front of the male Taiping rebels and "lined up to be shot" with the Qing army!
Although their team was not in order, their marksmanship was good. The Qing soldiers who were shooting at them could not hold on for a while! At this time, another group of long-haired men would rush up with guns and throw bombs, blowing up the Qing army. Finally, there was the "bayonet charge". It was to use a rifle with a bayonet and bullets to "fight" with the Qing soldiers wielding big blades - who knows if they will first shoot and then stab with the bayonet? With this kind of fighting style, the Qing army could not stop it at all! But Xianfeng was now stuck with the Taiping Army, and it was not easy to retreat! In this case, whoever retreated would be defeated and chased by the opponent all the way, just like a sheep chased by a wolf.

Just when Xianfeng was getting anxious and at a loss of what to do, someone beside him suddenly shouted, "Your Majesty, it's bad! The long-haired cavalry seems to have dispersed the Monk King's Mongolian cavalry and is now heading towards Pingqiao Town!"

"What? Our cavalry can't defeat the Taiping?" When Xianfeng heard the news, his eyes went dark.
(End of this chapter)