There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 138: Seizing the Pass
The next day.

After the Han army captured Jieting Post, they did not stay there. Instead, they took enough dry food and the newly joined young militiamen and quickly went up the mountain to ambush, preparing to besiege the point and attack the reinforcements.

Anyway, they have the villagers of Jietingyi as logistics support, giving them tips, so the Qing army will definitely not be able to hold back. Either they will be attacked from both sides and die, or they will send troops back to defend Jietingyi. If more troops return to defend, Chenlong Pass will fall, and if less troops return, they will be eaten by them.

"Sir, we found a lot of soldiers on the official road at the foot of the mountain." The scattered militia sentries suddenly ran up the mountain to report.

"Don't call me Master Jun, call me Captain."

Wu Bazong corrected him and immediately climbed the hill to investigate. Sure enough, he saw hundreds of Qing soldiers on the official road below, each holding spoils. Some were pushing carts piled high with money, grain, and other valuables.

That Mr. Yang Qian was really smart. He thought Yang Fang was mentally retarded, and actually gave him 500 soldiers, hoping that he could take back Jieting Posthouse. He really thought he was Lu Bu who was still alive!

He would not go to attack Jieting Posthouse. Not only would he be defeated, but he would also offend the Han army. But he could not leave without any gains, so he would just find a few villages to plunder, as long as it was enough to get the job done.

As for the future? Wait until Yang Fang can no longer hold on, or the governor leads troops to rescue him. Then he can either defect to the bandits or be considered a hero in suppressing the bandits. It won't be a loss either way.

In the first few days, he was stripped of his military power by Yang Fang, and with the Eight Banners outside persuading him to surrender, he really thought about surrendering. But then he thought about the 100,000-strong imperial army in Xiangxi, and thought that it would be better to wait and see unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Master Qianzong, if we go back like this and Garrison Commander Yang finds out something's wrong and blames us..."

"Haha, what are you afraid of? Yang Fang is just a guest general from Guizhou. Without the order from the governor, he is nothing in front of grandpa."

"Master Qian, your opinion is excellent!"

"That is……"

"Dudududuwuwuwuwuwu~~~~~~"

"Dudududuwuwuwuwuwu~~~~~~"

"kill!"

Before General Yang Qian and his deputy general could finish their boasting, they suddenly heard the sound of a trumpet from the mountain, followed by the shouts of a huge crowd of people.

There were more than one hundred Han soldiers, followed by hundreds of young and strong militiamen, holding various weapons such as sheep forks, hatchets, and pot lids, and a flag bearer waving behind them.

The five hundred Qing soldiers under General Yang Qian were completely unprepared. When they saw the Han soldiers charging in the front, they even forgot that they had a greater advantage in terms of manpower and fled in panic.

Captain Wu rushed the fastest. Feeling that the Tang sword was not effective, he simply picked up a long spear and rushed forward, stabbing several fleeing Qing soldiers to death.

Although Liu Zhihong was a scholar, he led the villagers to kill landlords and rebel, and his courage and bravery were no less than that of the Han soldiers.

He held the Tang sword lent to him by General Hao, and first killed a Qing soldier who was unable to dodge with one blow, and then started fighting with another Qing soldier who came towards him.

After a clash of swords, Liu Zhihong almost fell down, and the Qing soldier's iron sword broke.

A waist knife without steel covering won't even have a chance to make a cut against a stainless steel Tang sword.

While the Qing soldier was stunned, a Han soldier nearby kicked him down and then rushed over to finish him off: "Oh, you are a scholar, you are quite brave, you are a good man."

"hey-hey!"

More than 500 officers and soldiers were chased and killed by more than 100 Han soldiers and hundreds of young and strong militiamen. More than half of them were killed or wounded, and the rest fled back to Chenlong Pass in panic.

All the food and valuables that had just been looted were thrown onto the official road.

The Han soldiers took the food away and then sent militiamen to the surrounding villages to inquire which village had been looted and asked the village chief to bring people over to collect the food.

At the end of the day, the Han soldiers had not lost much food, but had even gained dozens of new recruits. All of these were donated by landlords and villagers, who even invited each other to join them. If anyone encountered Qing soldiers again, they would immediately report it to the Han army.

"Bastard!"

Yang Fang looked at General Yang Qian who had hurriedly escaped and wanted to drag him out and chop him to pieces in anger.

He could understand the defeat, and he wouldn't really blame you if you couldn't beat the Han army, but the problem is that not only did you lose, but you don't even know how you lost?

How many Han soldiers did we encounter? I don’t know!

I don't know what the Han army's armaments are like.

When asked, the Qing soldiers who had escaped back either said they did not see clearly or that they ran away after the captain had run away.

Looking at General Yang Qian again, aside from being a bit disheveled and having his helmet knocked off, he was otherwise unscathed, not even a speck of blood on his body. "Captain Yang, our army was ambushed by the rebels. We were rushed into battle with only 500 men. We were greatly outnumbered. We're lucky to have escaped!"

General Yang Qian knelt on the ground, his posture seemed very humble, but every word he said was full of confidence.

Yang Fang was very angry and wanted to drag the man out and chop him up immediately, but he really didn't dare and couldn't really do that.

Because he is from Guizhou, a guest general from another province. It is not impossible for a guest general to kill the local main general, but your rank must be high enough. Obviously, Yang Fang has not reached that level yet.

In addition, Yang Fang also needed these good-for-nothings to help him stabilize the morale of the army. He could only win over the soldiers temporarily by giving them money for wine and meat, but their accents would always be a barrier that he could not overcome.

For example, you would be working with a leader from another place who speaks a very heavy accent and speaks a different dialect. He has just been transferred here and you don’t know how many days he can stay. Would you really open up to him and work with him?

Yang Fang thought about it for a long time, but he still didn't dare to kill the man. He just gave up his military power on the spot, and then began to think about what to do.
What can I do?
Either we divide our troops and go back to destroy the Han army in the rear, but we can't divide them too few. If we can't defeat them with 500 men, we must at least divide them into 1,000 or 2,000 men.

Two thousand troops were divided out. Not to mention whether the morale of the Chenlong Pass army could be stabilized, if the Han army suddenly attacked the pass at this time, there would basically be no need to fight.

Moreover, even if they could destroy the Han army in the rear, they still had no idea how the Han army came out.

Based on his experience in Guizhou, and the mountainous terrain, it was clear that there must be some mountain people leading the way. In such a complex and rugged jungle, it was normal for undiscovered paths to bypass the city walls.

What should I do? What should I do?
Yang Fang felt like his head was about to explode, but it wasn't entirely an illusion. The arrow had festered in the wound and had started to give him a low fever.

That night.

Yang Fang went to bed early because of a fever, and it could be said that he had already shown signs of fainting from the fever. His personal soldiers were shocked and wanted to go out and call for a doctor.

Just as he left the house, he was stabbed to death by someone. It was Yang Qianzong, who had been stripped of his military power during the day. Behind Yang Qianzong were two other Qianzongs, Wu and Liu, and a captain named Li.

They could no longer bear it. General Yang Qian was ambushed by the Han army on the official road during the day and suffered heavy losses. If he had not run fast, he might not have been able to come back.

The Jieting Posthouse in the rear was captured by the Han army. Sooner or later, Chenlong Pass will be out of food. We can't defeat the Han army, and we can't wait for reinforcements. So we might as well rebel!

As for whether the Han army can defeat the 100,000 imperial troops in western Hunan, that is a matter for the future. If they don't make a decision now, it is hard to say whether they can survive until the decisive battle between the two armies.

Not everyone is fearless and willing to die in battle to pave the way for their descendants' wealth and glory. Many generals and officials surrender in order to survive alone, abandoning their families and wives.

Otherwise, what kind of Qing would they be fighting against? Everyone was loyal to and died for the Qing. Wu Sangui, the White Lotus Sect, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were able to hold out for a month without being destroyed, which was considered quite impressive.

After killing several Guizhou militiamen guarding the gate, they broke into Yang Fang's house and saw that Yang Fang was not alert at all. Instead, he was lying on the bed sweating profusely.

Wu Qianzong stepped forward and touched his head: "It's so hot! He has a fever. That's perfect, it saves us the trouble. Let me give him..."

General Yang Qian stopped him: "Don't do that yet. Catching someone alive is definitely a greater achievement than capturing someone dead. Even if he has a fever, at least he's still alive."

"it is good!"

Several people immediately went up and carried the man up, then went straight out of the city wall, leading a hundred or so Qing soldiers under their command and shouting: "We have captured the traitor Yang Fang alive. If you know what's good for you, surrender immediately and open the city gate!"

"The garrison commander has been captured! Surrender to the Han army!"

"Open the gates! Open the gates!"

All of a sudden, the originally quiet Chenlong Pass became like a boiling oil pan, with torches flashing everywhere.

Most of the torches that were being fired came from Guizhou militiamen, who were unwilling to surrender and wanted to take back their garrisons.

But the other Qing soldiers didn't think so. Seeing that their main general had been captured by several captains, and the captains were ready to surrender, why should they resist?

In particular, many Qing soldiers already knew that Jieting Post had been captured by the Han army. Those who had fled had already told them about it. The rumors were particularly outrageous, and they wanted to say that every Han soldier had three heads and six arms. Even the number of Han soldiers was infinitely exaggerated, and it was directly said that there were thousands of Han soldiers in the rear.

There were only a few of them, only two or three thousand at most. There were several thousand Han troops behind them inside the pass, and tens of thousands of Han troops in front of them outside the pass.

Even Yang Shoubei was seriously injured by the Han army and escaped back. How can we fight back?
Instantly, Chenlong Pass descended into chaos. Guizhou militiamen attempted to storm the towers and retake their position. Many Qing soldiers, hearing the words of the captains, gathered around, intending to follow them and join the bandits. Even more Qing soldiers, convinced that the pass was undefendable, sought to flee.

There was chaos at Chenlong Pass and it was soon discovered by the Han army camped outside.

It was impossible not to notice. The level of chaos above Chenlong Pass, coupled with the darkness and torches, was like a bonfire party.

(End of this chapter)