The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 185: The men of the city cannot lose face
Fuheng could not bear it anymore. Historically, half a month ago, the Qing army began to negotiate peace with the Burmese, and then withdrew its troops back north.

At this time, Fu Heng held out for another half a month because he was waiting for the messenger he sent to contact Zheng Xin and Mo Zibu to come back.

During this period, the commander of the imperial guards Wu Santai, the admiral Ben Jinzhong, the imperial guard Fugui and other Manchu Eight Banners generals died of illness one after another.

Dozens of Manchu generals, including the commander of the imperial guards Sonom Tsering, deputy governors Hurqi and Miankang, and imperial guards Yulin and Zhanpotu, were infected with the disease one after another.

As for the soldiers.

Two thousand Sauron soldiers were captured from the Inner and Outer Xing'an Mountains, and more than six hundred of them died of illness.

There were also nearly three hundred Manchus left from the Jianrui Battalion, the Internal and External Firearms Battalion, and the Vanguard Guard of the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing.

Four hundred of the one thousand Western Bai soldiers were killed, and more than six hundred Mongolian cavalrymen in the north and south of the desert were killed.

In just over a month, the Manchurian army lost 1,900 men, a loss much greater than the loss suffered in Mingrui's last defeat.

In addition, there were more than 1,000 deaths from illness in the Sichuan Green Camp, Guizhou Green Camp, and Fujian Navy.

In total, nearly four thousand soldiers died of illness.

However, due to the difficulty of logistical supply, only about 19,000 Qing troops actually arrived at the Laoguantun front line.

Including the hundreds of people who died in battle, the loss was more than one-fifth.

For an army in the feudal era, the death of so many elite soldiers, including the wounded, is a terrifying ratio. Coupled with the epidemic, the army did not collapse on the spot. Fu Heng is still able to control it, so it is indeed a strong army.

Agui was fully armed and led the deputy governor Hailancha, Mingliang, second-class guard Feng Sheng'e and others, all of whom were fully armored. With dozens of guards, they carried bows and guns and patrolled the camp to boost the morale of the soldiers.

In the barracks, the eight banners of Manchuria and Mongolia were seen with their feet soaked in yellow mud, wearing only single clothes, with purple lips, and shivering.

It turned out that after a few days of clear weather, heavy rain began to continue again.

Agui didn't hear many complaints while standing in the rain, only the suppressed cries of relatives dying of illness.

Of course, the most common people were squatting by the barracks to defecate, and some even fainted on the ground while defecating.

Some people drink water continuously, one ladle after another, but no matter how much water they drink, they will still feel thirsty.

Agui knew that they would die soon because the more water they drank, the easier it would be to defecate.

Drinking water only accelerates death.

From the perspective of later medicine, rapid diarrhea not only takes away water from the body, but also salt and electrolytes, which cannot be solved by drinking water alone.

"We can't fight anymore!"

Seeing these tragic scenes, Agui, who was always cautious, suddenly rushed into Fuheng's commander's tent.

But suddenly, he couldn't continue because Agui heard a very familiar sound of excretion, as if mixed with foam.

Fu Heng did not expect Agui and his nephew Mingliang to come in like this. Seeing that he could no longer hide himself, he had no choice but to walk out from behind the curtain.

People have become much more haggard.

"Master Fu!"

"uncle!"

Agui and Mingliang exclaimed at the same time, and Mingliang even started to cry.

Fu Heng gave them a wry smile and said, "Don't panic. If the news gets out, it will definitely damage the morale of the army. I've been infected with the disease for three days now, and my diarrhea is getting worse each time. I'm afraid I won't live long."

Mingliang fell to his knees and burst into tears.

A sad look appeared on Ah Gui's face, and he said sadly:
"Sir, please withdraw your troops. If you don't, we will all be finished. We can't have another fight with Tongbo.

If you feel you can't face the Emperor, then put the blame on me, Ah Gui, and say it was me who suggested sending people to negotiate peace with the Burmese bandits."

Mingliang, who was kneeling on the ground crying, immediately got up and was about to fight with Agui in the military camp, but Fuheng stopped him.

"I have already secretly reported to the Emperor that the plague has broken out in the army. This is fate. The Emperor will surely understand the difficulties we face."

After saying this, Fu Heng looked at Agui seriously and said, "You are a Manchu noble and an important general. You should know the importance of things. Now, send a reliable person to discuss things with the Burmese army. Once the emperor approves, prepare to withdraw immediately."

Seeing that Fu Heng had already made arrangements, Ah Gui felt ashamed for his hasty words. He cupped his hands and said, "General Ha Guoxing is loyal, brave and resourceful. We can send him to the Burmese to negotiate peace."

Please rest assured, sir. If these Burmese bandits are rude, I, Agui, will not retreat even if it costs my life, and will not bring shame to the Emperor or tarnish your loyalty."

At this moment, there was a loud cheer outside, which startled several people and made them rush out of the tent to watch.

I saw several riders on flying horses coming from a distance, followed by a large number of generals and officers in the camp who were cheering.

Mingde, the second-class guard who rushed over after hearing the news, took a look and saw that this was the person he had sent to the Mo family in Hexian.
Then he understood what was going on and quickly ran to Fu Heng to show off his achievements.

"Uncle, this is Goshha, the man I sent to Ha-hsien. He came from the south, so he must have good news."

Sure enough, when the people came closer, Mingde's Goshha Changbao knelt on one knee and shouted loudly: "Master, great joy!

Your servant, King Suihe, led 30,000 elite soldiers, claiming to have 80,000, and arrived 600 miles south of Ava a month ago. We were unstoppable along the way, killing countless enemies.

The River Fairy King has sent someone to escort this servant here to inform the master that before February 12th, there will be news on whether Ava can be captured or not. Please wait for good news."

Mingde jumped three feet high when he knew that he had made a great contribution, "Sir, the elite troops of the Burmese bandits are all here. Ava's defense is empty. King Hexian has 30,000 elite troops and they will definitely be able to take it down in one go." The generals and soldiers around him immediately cheered. After fighting for so long, they finally saw hope. At that moment, it seemed as if the epidemic no longer existed.

Fu Heng's face was also smiling so much that it was broken. The entire Qing army camp was filled with joy.

But after Changbao and several Burmese guards were invited into the commander-in-chief's tent, only the deputy governor of the Eight Banners, the general of the Green Camp, and senior officers above the rank of deputy general remained.

Fu Heng's face suddenly turned serious. "Chang Bao, tell me the truth. How many troops does the River Immortal King have? Where did he fight to?"

Fu Heng is not stupid. Humph, 30,000 elite soldiers, he doesn't even have 30,000 elite soldiers. Even if the road to the south is easier, with the wealth of the Hexian Mo family in those counties, can they take 30,000 elite soldiers and run thousands of miles?
"You bold slave, why don't you tell the truth quickly!" Mingde also snorted coldly.

But Chang Bao was not afraid at all, because he had not told many lies at all. He immediately knelt on the ground and answered loudly:

“My Lord, the River Immortal King does have 30,000 soldiers and horses, because he has subdued the Mon, Kachin, Minjia and other southern barbarians in Lower Burma, and also forced the Burmese general Bala Minding to surrender.

However, among these 30,000 soldiers, the real elite soldiers were only 3,000 people from Siam and Ha Tien. They had 30 small cannons, and all of them fired muskets on their own. They were unstoppable and had no rivals.

There are also 600 yellow-haired English and red-haired Dutch soldiers, who are also elite soldiers who have experienced many battles.

The army, deployed by ships, moved up and down the river like the wind, and moved very quickly. They indeed captured many large cities, and were only ten days away from Ava."

After listening to this, Fu Heng ordered the scribe to bring the record to him, and then asked Mingde and Hailancha to ask the questions in a random order.

Changbao’s answer was basically the same.

Afterwards, Fuheng ordered Ha Guoxing to send someone who could speak Burmese to inquire about the guards brought by Changbao, and the results were similar.

Only then did Fu Heng show joy on his face.

Hailancha, standing by, was extremely excited. He said to Fuheng, "Sir, the River Immortal King has 4,000 elite soldiers and over 20,000 auxiliary soldiers. This can be converted into at least 1,000 elite Eight Banner soldiers and 6,000 elite Green Camp soldiers."

This way, there will be 7,000 soldiers available for combat. It will definitely not be possible to attack Laoguantun, but it will not be a problem to attack Ava, which has poor defense.

Even if they can't take it, the Burmese will never dare to keep their heavy troops in Laoguantun. As long as the Burmese return to rescue, they will not be able to hold Laoguantun!"

When the generals heard this, they all thought it made sense. Since there was already hope, it wouldn't hurt to wait another two months.

But Fu Heng, Agui, Mingliang and others looked embarrassed because they knew the situation best and knew that Fu Heng had also been infected.

As it is now, dozens of people die every day. If we wait for more than a month, the epidemic will spread rapidly. It is really unknown whether we can hold out until that time.

After receiving Mo Zibu's reminder, Chang Bao took a deep breath when he saw the expressions of Fu Heng and others. King Hexian was too powerful to be able to guess this.

So, this guy deliberately pretended to have something to say but didn't dare to say it.

Mingde was his master, and he knew at a glance that he had something to say, so he made up his mind.

"You little dog slave, what else do you have to say? Speak it all out. You've delayed military operations. How many heads do you have left to chop off?"

Mingde is now very clear that if this battle is won, he will get great credit, because the people around the River Immortal King were sent by him, and the ones who came back to pass on the information are also his confidants.

Changbao also made up his mind. Like Mingde, he certainly knew how great the contribution was.

"I'm sorry, my fellow men of the city, I'm going to take your lives to become the boss!"

After howling in his heart, Chang Bao did not wait for Fu Heng's permission. He put on a brave face and said loudly:
“When I left, the River Immortal King told me that he knew the army must be in a difficult situation right now, so he could understand any decision.

However, the River Immortal King has few soldiers and cannot withstand the full force of the Burmese bandits. If the Governor wants to withdraw his troops, he must be notified in advance to prevent him from being attacked by the returning Burmese army!

"You dog slave!" Mingde was frightened and quickly kicked Changbao over.

A group of Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners generals led by Hailancha, Mangkecha and Manduhu were immediately furious.

"How dare the Mo family kid look down on others? I'm afraid he doesn't dare to beat Ava!"

"Fuck his grandma, men of the Eight Banners would never lose face like this!"

Fu Heng and Agui looked at each other and had no choice but to continue fighting.

Having said that, what if the River Immortal King's troops really went to Ava, but they retreated, leading to the River Immortal King's defeat.

Then, the emperor, who had been humiliated, would definitely want to kill their entire family.

Besides, even if someone like Fu Heng died, he really couldn't afford to lose face.

At this time, the Eight Banners were in the hands of Emperor Qianlong. Their tempers and personalities were shaped a bit like the gangsters in later martial arts novels. They valued loyalty and could not lose face even if they lost anything.

If Fuheng and Agui did such a thing, the reputation of their entire family and clan would be ruined, and they would not be able to explain to the families of the Eight Banners officers and soldiers who had died in battle or from illness.

Fu Heng gritted his teeth and said, "A Taibao, from today on, you will lead the army. Transfer all officers and soldiers who are not sick to higher ground upstream and strictly isolate them.

I will stay here personally. Anyone who has had diarrhea, vomiting, or alternating chills and fever in the past three days must stay here.

We will wait for the River Fairy King for forty days.

Changbao, you go south immediately and tell King Hexian that as long as he is willing to attack Ava, I, Fucha Fuheng, will accompany him to the end.

If we capture the Burmese bandits and vent the emperor's anger, he will surely achieve his wish!"

(End of this chapter)