Chapter 49: The Battle of Jade Tree (Happy Lantern Festival)

  Seeing the cavalry rushing out of the city, Gu Hongtao understood everything. He had been deceived by Bai Meng and had already defected to the Western Sichuan Army, coming to fight as their vanguard in an attempt to capture Yushu. At this moment, Gu Yun was extremely regretful, even having the heart to kill Bai Meng. He had considered Bai Meng a sworn brother, but Bai Meng had deceived him.

  "Hurry, kill them all and take back the city gate!" Gu Yuntao stood on the low city wall, shouting loudly. The Qingma soldiers around him, after receiving the order, rushed towards the city gate.

  At this time, the Qing Ma Jun and the rebel army that had broken in were mixed together, everyone was riding on horseback and slashing with their sabers. If they used guns, it's very likely that they would hurt their own people.

  Bai Meng led his men in a surprise attack and successfully seized control of the city gate. Although the Qing army soldiers inside the city rushed to retake control of the gate, they were unable to do so due to the narrowness of the gate, which prevented too many people from entering at once. As a result, the numerical advantage of the Qing army was completely neutralized. Bai Meng and his men were temporarily safe.

  Seeing the city gate being controlled by his own people, a smile appeared on Bai Meng's rough face. This time's first achievement undoubtedly belonged to him. His future rise to prominence was just around the corner!

  A distance of three kilometers is not far for a cavalry charge, and only a few minutes are enough. Outside the city of Yushu, Ma Kei personally led the remaining two thousand people from the 11th Brigade to launch a rapid charge. Seeing that the city gate was still under the control of Bai Meng and others, Ma Kei's face was also filled with smiles. He knew that only by establishing enough merits could he keep his position in the Sichuan Army, or even rise higher.

  "Speed up, charge into Yushu City, Yushu City is ours!" Ma Kei loudly commanded. Under his command, the soldiers of the 11th Brigade charged at an even faster speed.

  If Yushu City had heavy machine guns or cannons, the 11th Brigade would have charged like this and suffered heavy losses. However, the Qinghai Army only had a very small number of heavy machine guns and cannons, which were left behind by Ma Haiyan to defend Xining, and other troops did not get any at all. In contrast, the Sichuan-Xikang Army had already equipped heavy machine guns as standard weapons for platoon-level units.

  "Brother Gu, our troops are scattered all over Yushu City and have fallen into chaos. With just this small force at the south gate, we can't withstand their attack! It's better for you to leave and return to the city to regroup the troops, and then think of a way to drive these rebels out!" suggested Chen Jianshu, a middle-aged officer in his 40s, who was the commander of the 8th battalion of the Qingma Army. Although he was older than Gu Hongtao, he took orders from him. The troops currently defending the south gate of Yushu City were his 8th battalion. However, it seemed that the 8th battalion could not withstand the attack of the 11th brigade at all.

  "Alas, let's go!" Gu Hongtao sighed quietly and had to get down from the city wall, return to the city, gather the remaining soldiers of the 4th brother camp and the 8th camp, and prepare to retake control of the south gate. He knew that although this wave of rebels was not many in number, the main force of the Sichuan army would definitely follow behind, and once the Sichuan army entered the city, it would be even more impossible to resist.

  "Someone, immediately send a fast horse to Xining to report that Nangqian has fallen, and the rebels are besieging Yushu with the Sichuan-Tibet army. Yushu may not be able to hold on for several more days. Also, inform the Maqin side to dispatch powerful troops to rescue Yushu!" Gu Hongtao calmly gave orders. Since a great mistake had already been made, he could only try his best to make up for it.

  "Yes, General!" A team of Qing Ma Jun soldiers immediately left the city from the north gate of Yushu.

  After the Qinghai Ma Army retreated, Bai Meng's men completely controlled the city gate and nearby city walls. As Ma Qi led the entire 11th Division to arrive, they drove the Qinghai Ma Army out of the area near the south gate of Yushu.

  "Lao Bai, well done! This time you've made a great contribution!" Ma Qi exclaimed as he came down and saw the blood-soaked White Meng.

  "Haha! This is all thanks to the brothers' hard work!" Bai Meng said with a smile. Although they had taken the city gate, Bai Meng's subordinates had also suffered heavy casualties. In just this short period of time, under the siege of the Qing Ma Army, more than 100 people had been killed and over 100 were seriously injured, with casualties accounting for almost half! However, their sacrifices had yielded a good return. They had taken control of the south gate of Yushu City, and when the time came, the main army could directly enter the city and completely annihilate the Qing Ma Army.

  "Let's set up our defenses first, we don't have much time! The counterattack from the Green Horse Army will be here soon. I've already sent someone to inform the main forces behind us, telling them to hurry up and arrive as soon as possible!" Ma Yun Tao said.

  "Alright. Bai Meng, you and your men go down and rest first, brothers will start deploying defenses. Everyone will take the city gate as the center, rely on nearby houses to defend, block all streets, before the main force arrives, we must hold this place!" Ma Qi ordered.

  Then, the soldiers of the Eleventh Brigade began to bustle about. They pushed some civilian houses onto the streets to set up roadblocks and block the cavalry's charge. After all, they were outnumbered, the Qingyu City Green Horse Army was almost twice their size, if the other side launched a reckless attack without regard for casualties, it would definitely be the Eleventh Brigade that couldn't hold out in the end.

  At the same time, in the military camp within Yushu City, Gu Hongtao, Chen Jianshu and the commanders of three other camps also gathered together. However, they all looked worried and anxious. Having lost Yushu City, Ma Haiyan would definitely not let them off easily.

  "General Gu's men have already set up the defense, but those rebels haven't launched an attack yet. I reckon they're waiting for reinforcements!" Chen Jianshu said. This time his eighth battalion performed terribly, making him lose confidence in his tone. However, it was Gu Hongtao who ordered the city gate to be opened, which allowed the rebels to take advantage of the situation. So if anyone should be held responsible, it should be Gu Hongtao.

  "Hmm! However, we must drive them out of the city before the Western Sichuan army arrives. Otherwise, once the Western Sichuan army comes, we will be even less of a match for them." Gu Hongtao said with a dark face.

  "Commander Gu, shouldn't we retreat? With the strength of our five battalions, we can't withstand the attack of the Western Sichuan Army at all!" A somewhat panicked voice rang out. The speaker was a man in his thirties, with a pale face and a dissipated look. He was Cen Zhiwen, the commander of the 35th Battalion, who had become the battalion commander solely through connections and had never actually fought in battle. Therefore, as soon as he saw the Western Sichuan Army approaching, he became frightened.

  "Hmph! Yushu is our defensive zone. If we lose this place, no one will survive!" Gu Hongtao said coldly.

  "Let's not talk about retreating for now, let's counterattack as soon as possible! If we can drive out the rebels before the large army of Western Sichuan arrives, we may still be able to hold on until reinforcements arrive. But if not, I'm afraid Yushu is doomed!" Chen Jianshu hastily said.

  "Lao Chen, prepare the troops for attack! The first wave will be led by your 8th battalion!" Gu Hongtao ordered.

  "Good!" Chen Jianshu nodded. His eighth camp, after the previous battle, had only more than 700 people left. But the south gate was originally his defensive area, now lost, he naturally had to fight back desperately.

  Half an hour later, the 8th Regiment of the Qinghai Cavalry began to charge. However, the streets were blocked and they had to dismount and charge on foot. The defending troops of the 11th Brigade of the Western Sichuan Army fired back with their guns. Both sides exchanged fire across the street, the sound of "rat-a-tat-tat" gunfire echoing throughout Yushu City.

  The common people living here had already left the city from the other three gates at the moment when the gunfire sounded. The defending Qing Ma army did not stop them either. If there were ordinary people in the city, it would affect their actions.

  As both sides lacked heavy weapons, the firepower was not strong. However, the 11th Brigade, which was on the defensive, was undoubtedly in a favorable position. At least, their fortifications were more solid, so they suffered much fewer casualties in the crossfire.

  "Lao Chen, let them attack! If we're suppressed like this, forget about driving the rebels out!" Gu Hongtao ordered impatiently.

  "Alright! Full-scale attack!" Chen Jian Shu gave the order to attack, although he was not satisfied. However, if they attacked like this, even if they managed to drive out the rebels, his 8th battalion would be left with almost nothing.

  P.S: The first update is here, Little Fish wishes all book friends a happy Lantern Festival!