Chapter 49: Retreat
At this time, Li Xubin killed towards the southwest, and the wounded soldiers killed towards the southeast. Li Mingfeng ordered the opening of the west camp gate and led the foreign gun team to rush straight to the northwest Shucheng direction.
The tens of thousands of long-haired bandits who had been besieging the Xiang Army's camp were led away by Li Xubin to Jiuzheng, and as soon as the wounded soldiers emerged, the remaining ones also followed to pursue and kill them. As soon as Li Mingfeng and others left the camp, there were only a few long-haired bandits left outside, relying on their fast horses, Li Mingfeng and others quickly rushed out.
His subordinates reported the situation to Chen Yucheng, saying that a thousand or so Qing troops had been killed and were fleeing towards Shucheng. Chen Yucheng thought for a moment, smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, Li Xubin is here anyway. A thousand or so little monsters can't do anything. After annihilating Li Xubin's army, Shucheng, Tongcheng, Pingshan and Taohu Lake will be recovered in a few days!"
Li Xubin had already rushed down the mountain, and was only a few hundred steps away from Chen Yucheng's location. However, within these few hundred steps, there were at least tens of thousands of Longhairs.
Looking back at his own troops, he saw that there were less than a thousand people left, and everyone was injured. Li Xubin knew that this was where he would die. The long-haired enemies were endless, killing one would bring two more, killing two would bring four more. Li Xubin had been stabbed multiple times, if not for his determination to hold on, he would have died already.
Seeing that the thousands of cavalry led by Li Mingfeng had disappeared, Li Xubin felt a huge stone lifted from his heart. Standing at the foot of the mountain, he roared: "Four-eyed dog, we've been facing each other for years, you've never won against me! Today, although I was defeated in battle, I still don't admit defeat to you!" Although the two sides were only a few hundred steps apart, with tens of thousands of troops, how could Chen Yugeng hear his shouting amidst the chaos?
More than half a time, Li Xubin's troops were slaughtered, and the wounded soldiers who fled to the southeast were killed by the rebels before they could run out of 1,000 steps. In the Battle of Sanhe, Li Xubin led six thousand elite Hunan troops, all of whom were annihilated, leaving only Zeng Guohua escaping.
At this time, at noon, Chen Yucheng ordered the army to prepare and continue westward advance the next day, straight to Shucheng.
Li Mingfeng and others arrived in Shucheng, knowing that this place could not be defended either. They took out all the Xiang Army and 200 British soldiers stationed here. Of course, various gold, silver, and valuables in the treasury were also taken away without exception. They rushed overnight and arrived at Tongcheng.
Tongcheng is a big city in Anhui, although it's not as solid as Anqing, but it can also be considered a high-walled and deep-moated city. According to Li Mingfeng's idea, even Tongcheng should be abandoned, and they should flee to Anqing to see Du Xing'a again.
Zeng Guohua woke up and learned about the situation, cried for a while, but calmed down and refused to leave Tongcheng. At this time, there were about 2,000 Xiang Army soldiers from Shucheng and Tongcheng, as well as 1,600 foreign guns, with sufficient food, grass, and weapons, so Zeng Guohua thought they could hold out for a while.
Moreover, this place is less than 100 miles away from Anqing, and there are no more big cities to defend along the way. If Tongcheng is abandoned, it would be equivalent to letting the tens of thousands of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom rebels reach the city of Anqing unimpeded. With Du Xing's over 10,000 troops, they could only flee in defeat.
After receiving Li Mingfang's specific battle report, Du Xinga decisively ordered the recall of Zeng Guohua and commanded the army to withdraw from the siege and return to Hubei. Li Mingfang's foreign gun team, together with the Tongcheng Xiang Army, was responsible for covering the rear. Du Xinga was more rational than Zeng Guohua; at this time, it was difficult not only to capture Anqing but also to preserve himself.
Li Mingfeng had Zeng Guohua bound and forcibly sent several dozen Hunan soldiers to escort him back into Hubei territory, all the way to Wuchang.
At this time, only one high-ranking general, Li Mingfeng, was left in Tongcheng. The order given to Li Mingfeng by Du Xinga was to defend the city for two days, so that the Anqing army could withdraw safely. Li Mingfeng thought it was a simple task and agreed to do it, of course, he had another purpose that he didn't tell outsiders.
That night, Li Mingfang ordered Andrew, Cai Yiqun and Chen Xinghan to secretly transport the silver stored in the treasuries of Tongcheng and Shucheng onto a Prussian ship anchored near Anqing.
It is said that the provincial treasury has stored silver, but in fact this city has been occupied for less than two months, where did the tax silver come from? They are all the people's fat and oil searched by the Taiping Army, and after the Xiang Army fought over, they belonged to the Xiang Army again. Li Mingfeng also used the excuse of replenishing food to turn over the big and small households in Tongcheng, but it seemed that the long-haired ones were much more ruthless than him, and they had already been cleaned up early. Li Mingfeng's foreign gun team turned for a long time before snatching a few thousand taels of silver. Maybe if you dig three feet underground, you can still find some silver, but the Taiping Army is about to arrive, and Li Mingfeng doesn't have that skill anymore.
This time the gold and silver, jade utensils, porcelain, silk, cloth, even some broken copper and iron were all sent to the Prussians by Li Mingfeng.
Chen Yucheng's army arrived in Shucheng on the second day, and the Qing dynasty's evil spirits had already withdrawn. They occupied Shucheng and then led the army to Tongcheng. Seeing that there were many foreign devils guarding the city of Tongcheng, Chen Yucheng was hesitant because he knew how powerful foreigners were. Camping under Tongcheng, Chen Yucheng thought to wait for his brother Li Xiucheng from the rear to discuss further.
Unexpectedly, the next day, the foreigners had withdrawn and Tongcheng was empty. Further investigation revealed that Du Hengrui, who was besieging Anqing, had also retreated. After all, Chen Yucheng had killed 6,000 of Li Xubin's men and lost at least 6,000 to 7,000 himself, leaving him with no face left.
Chen Yucheng thought to himself, if he didn't kill more of the Qing troops, this battle wouldn't be glorious at all. With a determined mind, Chen Yucheng led his army in a swift pursuit.
Li Mingfeng guarded for two days, thinking in his heart that he had also kept his promise. The long-haired bandits outside the city had all arrived, and when they attacked the city tomorrow, he would not be able to escape. At night, after estimating it was past midnight, the foreign gun squad withdrew from Tongcheng.
Li Mingfeng thought this was a very safe and secure way to act, but in the end he miscalculated one thing. After Du Yuxiang's army withdrew, Anqing Longmao actually lifted the siege.
Li Mingfeng had just entered the Anqing area, and the scouting cavalry came to report that there were about 5,000 Taiping rebels ahead, blocking the way back to Hubei. It was only then that Li Mingfeng understood why Du Xinga needed to cut off the rear. If it were only Chen Yucheng's Taiping rebels, there would have been enough time for him to withdraw. What Du Xinga was worried about was the Taiping rebels inside the city.
At present, the situation is that the Longhairs in the city will not go after Du Yuxiang's army of 10,000 men, as this would be too risky. They must cut off their own line of retreat and join forces with Chen Yucheng to trap themselves between Anqing and Tongcheng, attempting to swallow the foreign rifle troops whole.
Li Mingfeng cursed inwardly and ordered his army to stop advancing immediately.
