Chapter Fifty Crossing the River

  At this time, the team had ridden military horses and carried a lot of gold, silver, and valuables. If they wanted to take a shortcut and sneak away, they could only abandon their horses and valuables and walk through the forest on foot. Moreover, doing so would disperse the team, reduce their combat effectiveness, and increase the danger. Besides, Li Mingfeng was reluctant to give up those treasures.

  Head-on collision, more than 3,000 people against more than 5,000 long-haired bandits. Although they had the advantage of firearms, it was still very difficult to win. Moreover, as long as Anqing's long-haired bandits held on for two hours, until the four-eyed dog arrived, Li Mingfeng's foreign gun team would be completely buried here.

  After some thought, Li Mingfeng decided to bring the entire team to the Prussian ship on the riverbank. Even if they had to fight, with the Prussian ship's cannons and regular army on board, their chances of winning would be much higher.

  More than 3,000 people rushed to the riverbank, listening to Li Mingfeng's account, and were so angry that they almost drew their swords to kill him. There were only over thirty merchant ships, loaded with gold and silver plundered by Li Mingfeng, which were already basically full. If they had to be loaded, one ship could hold at most 30-50 people.

  But Li Mingfeng brought more than 3,000 people and over 3,000 horses, which would have sunk the Prussian ships, let alone accommodate so many people. Li Mingfeng was anxious, and the scouts came to report that Anqing's long-haired troops had completely blocked the western route, Chen Yucheng's army rushed straight here, and it was likely that they would arrive in less than two hours.

  Li Mingfeng had an idea and said: "Transport people in batches, and once we transport the troops to the southern bank of Anhui Province..."

  Eros had no choice but to agree. The troops were divided into several batches and transported to the other side, just as they finished transporting, the long-haired army had already arrived, but could only sigh at the sea.

  Li Mingfeng knew that the Prussian ships had been exposed and had to return, otherwise, once news of these ships helping themselves got out, those Prussians would likely be trapped in the Yangtze River. Elos had also thought of this point earlier, so after putting Li Mingfeng and others in southern Anhui, he left some ammunition and went downstream along the river.

  Wannan is also the territory of the Longhairs, and it can be said that it is the hinterland of the Longhairs. For Li Mingfeng, it is equally dangerous. Chen Yucheng may have already sent a message to surround and kill the foreign gun team with the Wannan Longhairs. However, Li Mingfeng is not afraid at this time because Chen Yucheng's army cannot cross the river to the south. As long as he does not encounter a large number of Longhairs, Li Mingfeng still has the power to fight with his current troops.

  Du Xing'a's army retreated to Su Song, which is located at the border of Hubei and Anhui provinces, only 200 miles away from Anqing. For Chen Yucheng, Su Song was more important than Du Xing'a. As long as Su Song was in the hands of the Qing army, once the Taiping Army's main force moved to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Du Xing'a would inevitably attack Anqing. Only by capturing Su Song could Anqing be secured, and only when Anqing was secure could the Taiping Army's main force have the energy to fight elsewhere.

  As expected by Li Mingfeng, Chen Yucheng's army did not pursue southward, but instead continued to advance westward, taking Panshan and Taihu, and pressing on to Susong. However, this is a later story.

  Li Mingfeng is temporarily safe, but he also dare not be careless, and only when he reaches the Qing army's range in Hubei and Hunan can he be considered victorious. At this time, night had already fallen, Li Mingfeng originally wanted to set up camp and rest on the spot, but instead found a city faintly visible in the distance.

  At this time, Li Mingfeng suddenly had an idea in his mind. If he took advantage of the fact that the long-haired people in the city had not yet received the news and were unprepared, he could immediately use the dozen or so cannons left behind by the Prussians to blast open the city gate, kill his way in, and seize the city. Wouldn't that be a good thing? Looking out at the distance, the city was quite large, and it's likely that there was no shortage of silver in the treasury either.

  Still under the influence of greed, Li Mingfeng had become addicted to robbery. When he saw a city, he didn't consider whether it could be taken first, but rather how much benefit he could get from it.

  Li Mingfeng summoned the Xiang Army soldiers to inquire about the nearby situation, and learned that if they wanted to escape into the Qing army's territory, they would have to pass through dozens of cities. Even if there was no one blocking their way, it would take at least three days' journey to reach the Ganxi Qing army's sphere of influence. In this case, the grain and grass they brought with them were not enough, so the foreign gun team had to plunder to replenish military supplies.

  Be careful, as the saying goes, "swift hands have, slow hands none". If we let the long-haired ones inside the city get wind of this and prepare, it will be even harder to take the city. Li Mingfeng immediately gave the order, and the entire army charged at the city.

  When the Prussians left, they left behind a dozen or so cannons for Old Li to defend himself. Now was the time to use them, and Li Mingfeng ordered his troops to open fire on the city. At this moment, Li Mingfeng still did not know how terribly wrong his decision was.

  The people of the Foreign Gun Brigade were not familiar with the surrounding situation, and the Hunan Army they brought were all soldiers stationed in Tongcheng and Shucheng under Li Xubin's command. They were also low-ranking soldiers who didn't understand the strength of the two armies very well. Moreover, the reason why Chen Yucheng did not pursue the army that crossed the river was because he wanted to take Suqian and keep Anqing safe. Another reason was that after crossing the river from Anqing, it was a stronghold of the Taiping Army - Chizhou.

  The Taiping Army implemented the Five-Directional General system, with the army divided into five divisions, each led by a main general. Chen Yucheng was the main general of the Front Army, Li Xiucheng was the main general of the Rear Army, Li Shixian was the main general of the Left Army, Wei Zhijun was the main general of the Right Army, and Shi Dakai was the main general of the Central Army.

  Chen Yucheng, Li Xiucheng and Li Shixian's three armies have just annihilated Li Xubin in Jiangbei. The main force is preparing to take Su County, approaching Jiujiang and Wuchang. Meng De'en garrisons Tianjing as the highest military commander of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

  The last right-wing army commander, Wei Zhi-jun, was in charge of defending Huizhou City. The city walls were high and the moat was deep, with enough military equipment and food to withstand a five-year siege. Inside the city, there were more than 50,000 elite Taiping Army troops, as well as hundreds of red cannons. In addition, within the vicinity of Huizhou, there were at least 100,000 Taiping Army soldiers under Wei Zhi-jun's command.

  Li Mingfeng's move can be described as 'there is a road in heaven that you don't take, and there is no gate in hell that you rush into'.

  The Yang Gun Team, together with the Xiang Army, had more than 3,000 people, and it was impossible to surround them. Li Mingfeng led his army to press on to the west gate of Chizhou. With a dozen or so large cannons all in position, just as he was about to give the order to fire, Li Mingfeng felt that something was not right.

  After the soldier on the city wall reported the news, the people in the foreign gun squad vaguely heard the noise inside the city.

  "This city doesn't seem small, and the noise inside is so loud. Could it be that there's a large army stationed here?" Li Mingfeng asked Chen Xinghan beside him.

  Chen Xinghan awkwardly said: "Sir, I used to be just a general, and I didn't participate in the war. I don't understand the deployment of the Taiping Army's forces either. But aren't the main forces of the Taiping Army all in Jiangbei? We shouldn't be so unlucky that every city we attack is where their main force is."

  Just as Li Mingfeng was hesitating, the city gate of Chizhou swung open and countless cavalry and infantrymen rushed out, forming a battle array in front, facing off against the foreign rifle troops.

  "About a thousand troops have come out, two thousand... three thousand... uh... four thousand... uh... now probably at least ten thousand." Chen Xinghan looked at the constantly pouring long-haired men and estimated the number in a low voice.

  The four gates of Chizhou were wide open, with 10,000 troops exiting from the west gate to form a battle array against the foreign rifle corps. The other three gates each sent out 5,000 soldiers, completely blocking off the retreat route of the foreign rifle corps.