Chapter 46: Counterattack Begins

  By the end of October, the weather had become increasingly cold.

  Soldiers in the Qing army camp, many of whom were wearing thick cotton-padded jackets, were playing and having fun in the camp.

  Some soldiers gathered together to gamble, throwing dice and playing cards; some soldiers simply lay in their tents, smoking the lowest quality opium; some soldiers had little money, so they wandered around the camp...

  The whole camp was filled with a lazy atmosphere, and no one was training.

  Even the soldiers standing guard at the entrance of the camp were dozing off, their eyes closed. The patrolling soldiers had long since disappeared to who-knows-where. The vast Qing army camp was like a marketplace, with people coming and going, laughing and scolding, noisy and chaotic, without any serious or tense atmosphere.

  At noon, the weather was gloomy and overcast, with a cold wind whistling.

  "Ta-da! Ta-da!!"

  Suddenly, there came the sound of uniform footsteps from in front of the camp.

  The soldiers standing guard at the entrance of the camp heard the sound, looked up and suddenly widened their eyes, conditioned to shout: "Enemy attack, enemy attack!" The voice was loud, but only awakened the soldiers at the entrance of the camp. Inside the camp, there was still no movement. When the soldier rubbed his blurry eyes and saw the situation in front of the camp clearly, he found that it was a foreign army that had arrived, and he was so frightened that his soul flew away.

  The soldier was like a dead parent, shouting loudly: "Foreigners are killing, foreigners are killing."

  The two words "foreigner" were like a huge wave rising from the sea, instantly causing a great commotion. The originally quiet camp suddenly became restless. Countless soldiers rushed out and ran back and forth, completely like ants on a hot pot, chaotic and disorderly, with no one organizing the soldiers to prepare for resistance.

  Yang Nengge and Lan Weiwang received the news as if they were struck by lightning, but they also rushed out in a hurry.

  Lan Weiwu complained, "Li Zhen has brought about a great disaster, yet he leads the soldiers out of the camp for drills. Now the Anglo-French army's troops are approaching with a fierce killing intent, obviously targeting Li Zhen. What can be done now that Li Zhen is gone?"

  Yang Nengge ordered the soldiers to gather while saying: "The Anglo-French army is approaching, what can we do? We can't defeat them, and we can't escape. We can only ask for mercy from the Anglo-French army and then let them deal with Li Zhen."

  Two men stood at the entrance of the camp, muttering incessantly as they waited for the Anglo-French army to arrive.

  In the military camp, the soldiers gradually gathered, but the team was lazy and didn't look like they had any fighting power. Yang Neng stood nervously at the entrance of the camp, seeing British Commander Adams walking towards him, his face immediately filled with a smile, and he said fawningly: "Your Excellency, you've brought your soldiers to our Qing army's camp, what can I do for you?"

  Adams' face was stern and he said in a low voice: "The brave warriors of the great British Empire were injured by the Qing soldiers, I have come to arrest people."

  Yang Neng's eyebrows twitched twice, and he said: "Sir, how can the Qing army soldiers be a match for your country's brave warriors? You must have mistaken us. We are on friendly terms with your country's soldiers and will not attack them without authorization."

  "Bastard!"

  "Did I say I was hurt?" Adams shouted. "I said I was sucker-punched."

  Adams was shameless, but Yang Naiwu did not dare to refute him.

  Yang Nengge knew that this was a pretext for the British to find, no matter how he argued, it would be useless. He said: "Your Excellency, the soldiers who ambushed your country's brave warriors are not my soldiers, but Li Zhen's soldiers. Now Li Zhen has taken his soldiers out for training, let's wait until Li Zhen brings his troops back and then deal with him."

  "Bastard, you're also an accomplice, and you'll be taught a lesson too."

  Adams waved his hand and ordered: "Come on, take them away, don't hurt them."

  At once, two British soldiers took Yang Naiwu and Lan Yuwei into custody. Yang Naiwu did not build defensive works and even risked his own life to persuade the other side, unfortunately without success.

  Yang Nengge and Lan Weiyun are now easily controlled and unable to resist.

  Adams smiled with satisfaction, retreated back to the army and ordered: "Pass on the order to all soldiers, load bullets, prepare to shoot and kill the Qing soldiers in the Qing army camp. Hmph, this is what happens when Li Zhen angers the British Empire. After annihilating the soldiers in the camp, I will wait for Li Zhen's return and give him a great lesson."

  A thousand Anglo-French allied troops dispersed and raised their breech-loading rifles, taking aim at the Qing army in the camp.

  "Run away quickly!"

  Suddenly, a commotion broke out among the Qing soldiers in the camp.

  "Fire!"

  A cold voice echoed in the Anglo-French coalition.

  Bang! Bang!!!

  In an instant, dense gunfire erupted. Ice-cold bullets shot into the camp, tearing through the skin of the Qing soldiers, entering their bodies and splashing out scarlet blood. The sound of gunfire was followed by countless mournful cries. Soldier after soldier who had been hit by bullets let out heart-wrenching wails, these soldiers were originally idle and weak, some even because of opium addiction, unable to fight back, but also unable to escape, could only be shot.

  The camp was thrown into a state of utter confusion and all the Qing troops became hunted prey, utterly miserable.

  Yang Nengge saw this and shouted loudly: "Li Zhen, you murderer, if it weren't for you, how would our Qing army camp have suffered such a disaster? You deserve to die, you deserve to die!" Yang Nengge was heartbroken, but he didn't realize that these soldiers had already become corrupt, some smoking opium, others gambling, and were no longer real soldiers.

  These soldiers are a bunch of parasites and have no use for the country at all.

  Thousands of allied troops approached the camp, still firing continuously.

  The Qing army's dead and wounded grew more numerous, and the ground of the camp was stained with countless blood.

  Adams led Yang Nengge and Lan Weihua into the military camp, looking at the corpses on the ground. He licked his dry lips, but his eyes sparkled with endless excitement, like the thrill of hunting down prey. Seeing that the Qing army was defeated, Adams nodded in satisfaction and ordered: "Pass the order, spare those who surrender!"

  The order was passed down and all Qing forces abandoned their resistance.

  At the same time, the Anglo-French army also ceased fire.

  In this battle, the Anglo-French coalition army only lost some bullets and not a single soldier was injured, but they dispersed tens of thousands of Qing soldiers. Such brilliant achievements made Adams feel proud and proud in his heart. In Adams' eyes, the Qing army was a synonym for incompetence, as long as Adams led the soldiers to attack, he would definitely win.

  Bang!

  Suddenly, a dull thud was heard.

  A shot came from behind, Adams was startled, but found that the head of the guard next to him had a blood hole and was shot in the head. Adams' body trembled with fear, thinking the situation was not good, because the guard and he were very close, if the shooter wanted to shoot him dead, it was also completely possible.

  Bang! Bang!!!

  The first shot was followed by a succession of gunfire.

  Adams darted forward and hid among the soldiers.

  Bullets pierced the bodies of British and French soldiers, immediately recalling a string of mournful cries. This time, it was not the Qing army soldiers who let out painful moans, but the Anglo-French coalition forces. Adams understood that Li Zhen had brought his troops back, and immediately shouted: "Pass the order, command the soldiers to aim at the Qing army outside the camp and kill anyone who dares to lay hands on imperial soldiers."

  But with just the first wave of gunfire, hundreds of Anglo-French troops were killed.

  Such a result made Adams extremely uncomfortable.

  P.S: The third watch is completed;