There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 182 We thought of the same thing

Where did those shouts of killing come from?

Is that even a question?
If E Hui could conceive of a night raid to seize the city, the Han army could certainly have as well. However, the Han army had been lying in ambush waiting for an opportunity, but E Hui was so bold as to strike directly on the fifth night.

Yang Fang received a message from Lin Hu via walkie-talkie. Almost immediately after the 108 Banner soldiers were spotted by night vision goggles, Yang Fang, lightly armed, rushed from the ambush site to the rear of E Hui's camp.

Because it was a dark moon tonight, the Han army couldn't see it clearly, and neither could the Qing army.

Moreover, the Qing army also carried a large number of torches, which directly became moving targets in the eyes of the Han army, who then rushed towards the Qing army camp.

"kill!"

Yang Fang took the lead, wearing full armor.

This armor was the Iron Pagoda armor that Nie Yu had bought when he first arrived. It cost several thousand silver dollars and had been gathering dust in the warehouse for a long time.

There was no other way. It wasn't that Nie Yu was unwilling to give them to his subordinates; it was simply that these things were too heavy. A modern, industrially enhanced version, it was almost as heavy as a real iron pagoda. Even Nie Yu himself was panting when he put it on. It wasn't that the subordinates couldn't wear it, but if they did, they basically wouldn't need to fight anymore.

However, this was no problem for Yang Fang, since he was truly gifted with superhuman strength. Wearing the Iron Pagoda armor, he could move with incredible speed.

Two thousand Han soldiers suddenly attacked from behind the Qing army, catching them completely off guard!
It was already late at night, and it was the end of the month with the new moon, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. You could barely see anything by the light of the torches.

It's fair to say that this night raid was a significant challenge for E Hui. His troops weren't exactly bad, but they certainly weren't elite, making a night raid on a city a real stretch.

Fortunately, he had sufficient troops, and Hanchuan was only a county town, which gave him the confidence to launch a night attack.

However, now everything is over!

E Hui understood what had happened, and almost immediately shouted, "Gather troops! Gather troops! Sound the gongs! Stop the attack!"

Unfortunately, it was too late.

It was late at night, and the entire army was besieging the city. If they hurriedly ordered the gong to be sounded to retreat, it would be a problem whether the messenger could even find the gong-bearer.

Even if they found it, suddenly sounding the retreat at the crucial moment of the siege would be tantamount to abandoning the three thousand Eight Banner soldiers who were charging in the front line as cannon fodder.

Moreover, the Han army attacked from the rear, catching the Qing army off guard.

Yang Fang was very clever. He didn't even attack the Qing army directly. Instead, he killed several Qing soldiers, seized their torches, and then started setting fires everywhere.

Yang Fang's two thousand Han soldiers followed suit, grabbing torches and setting fires everywhere, burning down the Qing army's camps and positions. Soon, the entire Qing army was engulfed in flames, accompanied by deafening shouts of battle.

"It's on fire, run!"

"There are traitors! There are traitors! The traitors are coming!"

"Where did these traitors come from? Didn't the adults say that all the traitors were in Wuchang?"

"The rebels know sorcery, they know witchcraft, they've used witchcraft to surround us..."

"..."

After setting a large fire, and then being ambushed by the Han army in the dark of night, the Qing army, in their panic and disarray, had completely lost their rationality.

Although E Hui found the gong-bearer in time and ordered the other side to immediately sound the gong to retreat, it was still too late.

"Dang-dang-dang!"

The sound of the gong seemed so insignificant amidst the cacophony and the shouts of the Han army.

Not only was it insignificant, but E Hui's hasty retreat was like firing the starting gun for the Qing army's rout. The various Qing units scattered in all directions like headless flies.

In the darkness, they could not discern directions at all, and the light from their torches was very limited. Everywhere they looked, there were Qing soldiers who had fallen into chaos and were in retreat.

It's really outrageous!
The Qing army had 20,000 troops. If E Hui could organize them well, even if he only held his camp, the 2,000 Han soldiers brought by Yang Fang would definitely not have a good way to deal with the Qing army.

The night raid was essentially a psychological battle. If the Qing army hadn't been afraid and had held their ground, even Yang Fang, with his unparalleled bravery, wouldn't have been able to defeat E Hui's 20,000-strong army. However, E Hui failed to do so, and the Qing army collapsed!
E Hui was completely numb. He seemed to understand the helplessness Mingliang had described to him when faced with a total army rout. He clearly had the upper hand, with 20,000 troops besieging Hanchuan County. This small county had been under his relentless attack for five days and was already on the verge of collapse. If he just put in a little more effort, he could have taken the city in one battle and then turned his sword against the Han traitors in Wuchang and Hanyang.

But they collapsed, collapsed in a completely chaotic way.

The 20,000-strong army was thrown into chaos. The reinforcements from the Han traitors arrived unexpectedly, and even now he couldn't tell exactly how many Han traitors' reinforcements there were.

E Hui was furious; his army was completely out of control. No amount of beating drums and gongs could stop them; the fleeing soldiers were all running away in a chaotic frenzy, not even knowing where they were going or why they were fleeing.

Since everyone else is running, they might as well run along with them.

"Your Excellency, let's go quickly! It will be too late if we don't leave now."

E Hui's deputy was a lackey he had brought from the capital. Seeing that the situation was irreversible, he immediately ordered his personal guards to cover E Hui as they mounted their horses and rode away.

After E Hui fled, the Qing generals no longer hesitated and quickly mounted their horses and ran away with him.

They only brought their personal guards, neglecting even their trusted followers.

The main camp's rear was attacked by the rebels, and defeat was inevitable. It was already a miracle that they could escape alive. If they had run too slowly and tried to gather their scattered troops, they would have been doomed.

"Run!"

No sooner had E Hui fled on horseback than Lin Hu and Liu Zhiyu completely wiped out the Qing soldiers who had been leading the charge on the walls of Hanchuan County.

The Qing troops below the city already knew that their camp had been attacked by the Han army and were suffering a crushing defeat. Whether they were Manchu soldiers or soldiers from Wuchang and Hanyang, none of them were willing to risk their lives to attack the city; they immediately scattered and fled.

"Open the city gates and follow me to kill the Qing dogs!"

Lin Hu was already fired up. Seeing that the Qing soldiers on the city walls were either all dead or had jumped over the walls to escape, he no longer hesitated and directly ordered Liu Zhiyu to open the city gates. He wanted to go out and have some fun.

Liu Zhiyu's thin clothes were already stained with blood, and the blood on his scholar's sword was still wet. He hesitated slightly before saying, "Commander Yang hasn't taken the Qing army camp yet, nor has he issued any orders. If we open the city gates now, what if something unexpected happens..."

Lin Hu waved his hand dismissively: "Then I'll go out myself!"

After saying this, he led his personal guards down the city wall. Soon after, the city gate opened, and several hundred Han soldiers rushed out of the city.

"kill!"

Lin Hu didn't bring his full force; he left Liu Zhiyu with a hundred Han soldiers and only brought a little over three hundred men before daring to leave the city to kill the Qing army.

Surprisingly, when he left the city, the Qing army was not overjoyed, but rather greatly alarmed.

The rear camp was attacked by the rebel army and was in complete defeat. Meanwhile, the rebels in Hanchuan County took the initiative to break out of the city and encircle the enemy from both sides.

Regardless of whether they could contain it or not, that was what the Qing army thought, and they didn't consider that their own forces outnumbered the Han army by several times.

The Qing army was completely routed. The commanders had all fled, and the command system had completely collapsed. Even if it hadn't collapsed, it would have been difficult to command these chaotic and disorganized soldiers.

Yang Fang also knew how to create panic. Not only was he wearing the Ironclad Heavy Armor, but he also wore a beast mask, making him look like a hellish demon in the darkness.

Almost no Qing soldiers who encountered him could withstand a single blow. He was born with superhuman strength, and the soldiers he encountered were all fearful. It would be a miracle if they could defeat him!
Two thousand Han soldiers pursued the Qing troops from midnight until morning. Many Qing soldiers were too exhausted to run and could only let the Han soldiers kill or torture them at will. No Qing soldiers had the courage to resist, and they even captured two Qing officers from Wuchang.

"General, I am willing to surrender!"

"I'm willing to surrender too!"

The two men had clearly gotten separated in the darkness and inadvertently found themselves surrounded by the Han army.

Once they were trapped, they discovered that the Han army numbered less than one-tenth of their total strength, and 20,000 men were chased and killed by 2,000 men all night.

……

(End of this chapter)