Chapter 2: Got into trouble

  A single bullet took away the life of the Taiping Army's commander-in-chief.

  Li Zhenxiong was secretly delighted and immediately shouted loudly: "The leader of the bandits has been killed, kill!"

  The Taiping rebels were referred to as "bandits".

  Li Zhen loudly shouted and raised the bird gun in his hand, attracting the attention of the surrounding soldiers. At this time, Wu Qigong stopped retreating and looked at Li Zhen with praise. Wu Qigong also knew how to beat a fallen dog, shouting loudly: "The leader of the bandits has been killed, follow me to kill them back, and wipe out all the bandits."

  The Qing soldiers stopped immediately upon hearing the news of the Taiping Army's main general being killed.

  They did not immediately kill their way back, but instead carefully looked at each other twice to confirm that the main general of the Taiping Army was indeed killed. Only then did they change their expressions, and the bitter melon face became radiant and majestic, killing their way back with great fanfare. From the Qing army generals to the most ordinary Qing soldiers, all were heroic and proud, a stark contrast to their earlier fleeing appearance.

  The commander-in-chief of the Taiping Army was killed and the army immediately fell into great disorder.

  The soldiers lost their will to fight and saw the Qing army coming like wolves, turned around and ran.

  Li Zhen saw the Taiping Army retreat and did not go after them. He killed the main general of the Taiping Army, achieving the greatest merit, and going to kill some shrimp soldiers and crab generals would only be gilding the lily, serving no purpose.

  Wu Qigong happily came to Li Zhen's side and asked with a smile: "What is your name, what position do you hold?"

  Li Zhen replied: "I am Li Zhen, a centurion."

  Wu Qigong smiled and said: "You killed the leader of the bandits with a gun, your merit is undeniable. I will personally ask for reward on your behalf."

  Li Zhen happily said: "It's all thanks to General's excellent teaching that we were able to shoot and kill the bandit leader."

  Wu Qigong nodded slightly and patted Li Zhen's shoulder in encouragement. Li Zhen knew he had entered Wu Qigong's line of sight, and as long as he curried favor with Wu Qigong, he would have opportunities for advancement. It was now the third year of Xianfeng, less than three years away from the Second Opium War, and Li Zhen thought that to turn things around, he still had to create his own opportunities.

  Wu Qigong led his troops in pursuit of the Taiping Army, but soon withdrew and began clearing the battlefield.

  After the battle, the Taiping Army suffered more than 3,600 casualties and over 1,600 soldiers were captured. However, the Qing army also lost more than 1,800 men, a heavy loss indeed.

  Wu Qigong led his troops back and sent a message halfway back to the Jiangbei camp to report to Qi Shan.

  When the army arrived at the gate of the camp, Li Zhen found an emaciated old man standing outside the camp. The official uniform was distinctly different from that of ordinary generals and soldiers, with a crane embroidered on it, which was the official uniform only for first-class officials in the current dynasty. Throughout the Jiangbei camp, only the imperial envoy Qi Shan was a first-class official, so Li Zhen determined that the old man was Qi Shan.

  "I am Wu Qigong, at your service."

  Wu Qigong came to Qi Shan's side and knelt down on one knee in greeting.

  Qishan smiled and helped Wu Qigong up, saying slowly: "Qigong, you led the troops to victory, defeated the bandits, and boosted our military prestige. I will submit a memorial to the emperor to reward your merits."

  Wu Qigong immediately got up and knelt down again with a thud, saying gratefully: "Thank you, sir, for your cultivation!"

  Qishan raised his hands slightly, and Wu Qigong stood up again.

  Wu Qigong's eyes shifted, pointing to Li Zhen beside him, and said respectfully: "Sir, this time we were able to defeat the bandits, thanks to the efforts of Li Zhen, a hundred-man commander under my command. Li Zhen's marksmanship is excellent, and within a hundred steps, he can take down an enemy general with ease. It was precisely because Li Zhen shot and killed the leader of the bandits that we were able to win smoothly."

  Li Zhen hastily paid his respects and said: "Your subordinate Li Zhen has seen you, sir."

  Qishan took a look at Li Zhen and said, "He's tall and sturdy, with angular cheeks and bright eyes that shine like stars. He has an air of heroism about him, he's a talented individual who can be nurtured."

  Li Zhen bowed again and made a self-deprecating remark.

  Wu Qigong was overjoyed and ordered: "Bring the head of the leader of the rebels here."

  In a moment, the soldiers brought over the Taiping Army commander's head. Wu Qigong took the bloody head and waved it in front of Qi Shan, laughing and saying: "Sir, this is the leader of the bandits' severed head, with a bullet hole on it."

  "Ah!!"

  Qishan suddenly cried out in surprise, her eyes wide with a hint of panic flashing across her face.

  Li Zhen observed Qi Shan's expression and noticed a change in his demeanor, which made him feel uneasy. Qi Shan's face didn't show fear, but rather a hint of concern.

  There must be some ulterior motive behind this.

  Wu Qigong thought Qi Shan was frightened, and hastily threw the bloody head to the soldiers, saying: "Sir, the bandits are evil and can only be intimidated by severe punishment. I propose that the bandit's head be hung at the camp gate for three days."

  Qishan said in a low voice: "Settle the soldiers and prisoners, then bring Li Zhen to the main tent for discussion."

  Li Zhen listened to Qi Shan's tone and felt even more strange.

  Li Zhen was just a hundred officials under Wu Qigong, with a humble official position. Even if he had made great achievements, he was still an unimportant official and did not have the qualifications to enter the account for discussion. Qi Shan let Wu Qigong bring him up, possibly related to Fa Fei. Li Zhen even suspected that Fa Fei's identity was not ordinary, which caused Qi Shan's expression to change.

  In the military tent, Qi Shan sat on top, his expression solemn.

  Below, on both sides, sat military commanders.

  Li Zhen was not qualified to sit, standing quietly behind Wu Qigong. Wu Qigong found the atmosphere was not right, and his heart was also uncertain. But Wu Qigong did not understand that defeating the Taiping Army was in the interest of Jiangbei Dazheng and Qi Shan, why the atmosphere would be so heavy? Wu Qigong's eyes turned around, probing to ask: "Sir, is there anything?"

  Qishan asked: "When you led your troops and fought against the bandits, did you ever investigate their identities?"

  Wu Qigong shook his head and said: "Report back to your master, I don't know who the other party is."

  Li Zhen secretly shook his head. A leading general actually didn't know the situation of the opponent, it's really strange. Such a general occupies an important position, it's also very strange.

  Qishan stared at Wu Qigong, his face no longer joyful, and said seriously: "This official tells you that the bandit who was killed is named Yang Zhengqing, the younger brother of the bandit king Yang Xiuqing."

  "Yang Xiuqing's younger brother?"

  Wu Qigong's face lit up with joy and he said: "Sir, isn't killing Yang Xiuqing a good thing?"

  Li Zhen heard this and was so angry he wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it.

  Everyone's eyes were on Wu Qigong, and Li Zhen felt his face flush slightly. The dead man was the younger brother of Dong Wang Yang Xiuqing, and Qi Shan's anxiety was also evident. With Yang Zhengqing killed, Yang Xiuqing might send troops to attack the Jiangbei camp. Qi Shan indeed needed a victory to boost morale, but with Yang Zhengqing dead, it would be difficult for him to make amends.

  Qishan glared at Wu Qigong, his eyes sweeping towards the other generals, and said: "Yang Zhengqing has been killed, Yang Xiuqing will likely send troops to kill us, what are your opinions?"

  As soon as the words fell, the quiet big account immediately became noisy.

  The military leaders shook their heads and sighed, all blaming Wu Qigong.

  Wu Qigong's body was stiff, with a faint smile on his face, extremely embarrassed. With great difficulty, he had achieved a great merit, but he had picked up a hot potato. Wu Qigong sighed softly in his heart, but did not blame Li Zhen, and stood up to say: "Your Excellency, Yang Zhengqing has been killed. If Yang Xiuqing sent bandits to kill him, I will resist with all my might."

  Li Zhenjian took on Wu Qigong's responsibilities and also developed a good impression of him.

  This person isn't very capable, but his character is still okay.

  PS: Today's update has 4 chapters, tomorrow will have a massive update of 10 chapters.