My Realistic Simulation Game

Chapter 268 The First Battle of the Restoration Army

Late July 1858, Pucheng County Government Office, Fujian Province.

As night deepened, candlelight flickered inside the "National Ancestral Hall," a former government office in Pucheng County.

Yang Fuqing held a newly delivered letter in his hand, his brows furrowed, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

The messenger claimed to be from Tianjing (Nanjing), and said he had come on the orders of the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan.

The contents of this letter made his already anxious feelings about Shi Dakai's approaching army even more complicated and difficult to describe.

He recalled that he and his elder brother Yang Genyuan had joined the God Worshipping Society together. His brother died young, but by chance, he and a group of Yang family members were recognized as relatives by the powerful Eastern King Yang Xiuqing, and he changed his name to Fuqing.

From then on, he rose to prominence, transforming from a poor man in the mountains of Guangxi into a highly sought-after "national leader" in Tianjing City, acting as the Eastern King to convey orders to other princes and nobles—what a prestigious position he held!

At that time, even the Wing King Shi Dakai treated him as an equal.

However, the Tianjing Incident was like a nightmare.

Northern King Wei Changhui massacred the Eastern King's mansion and slaughtered the Yang clan.

If he hadn't been far away on the front lines in Ruizhou, Jiangxi at the time, he probably would have been beheaded long ago.

He still feels lingering fear when he recalls the shock and indignation he felt upon hearing the news.

He fled south to Fujian in haste, hoping to form a strategic alliance with Shi Dakai, who had also fled, and to open up new opportunities in the Fujian and Zhejiang areas.

But Shi Dakai's performance greatly disappointed him!
With an army of over 100,000, they were stuck under the walls of Quzhou, Zhejiang for three months without achieving anything. Instead, they were surrounded by the Qing army and are now retreating in disarray into Fujian.

The thought of Shi Dakai's massive army soon pouring into Fujian, and his mere 20,000 to 30,000 men inevitably being swallowed up and controlled by him, made Yang Fuqing feel as if he had swallowed a fly.

He was truly unwilling to be subordinate to others, especially to Shi Dakai, who was once his equal!

Just when he was filled with worry, this letter from Tianjing seemed to bring a turning point.

He took a deep breath, looked at the composed envoy before him, and asked in a deep voice, "What the envoy says, has the Heavenly King truly exonerated His Highness the Eastern King?"

The envoy smiled and said with certainty, "Absolutely true!"

"His Majesty the Heavenly King deeply appreciates the past merits of the Eastern King and also laments the evil deeds of the traitor Wei Changhui. He has issued an edict to restore all honors and titles to the Eastern King."

"Moreover, in order to restore order to the court and revitalize the power of the Heavenly Kingdom, the Heavenly King has decided to reinstate the early system of five military commanders!"

"The five commanders of the army?" Yang Fuqing's gaze sharpened.

He certainly understood the significance of this system.

Back when the Jintian Uprising took place, the Taiping Army fought all the way to Wuxuan. Hong Xiuquan proclaimed himself the Heavenly King and established the position of the commander of the five armies.

The five generals who later became the "Five Kings of the Uprising"—Yang Xiuqing, the commander of the central army; Xiao Chaogui, the commander of the vanguard army; Feng Yunshan, the commander of the rear army; Wei Changhui, the commander of the right army; and Shi Dakai, the commander of the left army—were all of extraordinary status.

That was a symbol of the core power at the beginning of the Heavenly Kingdom, and the commander of the central army was the one who held military power second only to the Heavenly King.

The re-establishment of the five commanders of the armed forces signifies that a new generation of power holders in the Heavenly Kingdom has once again stepped into the limelight.

"May I ask, envoy, who are the commanders of the five armies now?" he hurriedly asked.

The envoy calmly replied, "Your Excellency has been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army, Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng as Commanders-in-Chief of the Front and Rear Armies respectively, Wei Jun as Commander-in-Chief of the Right Army, and Li Shixian as Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army."

Upon hearing these names, Yang Fuqing's face immediately showed disdain and resentment: "Meng De'en? A mere favored official, what merit or ability do I have to hold a position in the central army?"

"Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng are nothing but greenhorns! Wei Jun is even a cousin of Wei Changhui. His brother committed heinous crimes, yet he is able to hold a commanding position without any repercussions?"

"And this Li Shixian, who is he? Never heard of him! Is there no one else in the Heavenly Kingdom?"

A surge of anger welled up within him, feeling that the Heavenly King had misjudged people.

The envoy seemed to have expected this, and calmly smiled, saying, "Yang Guozong, please calm down. The Heavenly King knows that you, Guozong, are a pillar of the Eastern King, seasoned in battle, and have made outstanding contributions. How could Lord Meng compare to you?"

"Therefore, the Heavenly King intends to invite you to succeed Mondene as the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army!"

"What?!" Yang Fuqing was shocked, almost unable to believe his ears. "Is this true?"

The position of the commander-in-chief of the central army—that was once held by Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King!

This honor and power far surpasses his current empty title of "Emperor of the Nation".

"The Heavenly King's words are golden and jade-like; how could they be false?"

The envoy solemnly said, "If the Emperor is willing to accept this position, I have the Emperor's own edict as proof."

Yang Fuqing's heart pounded, filled with a mixture of joy and surprise.

Returning to the Tianjing system would not only wash away the "stigma" of the Eastern Palace faction, but also grant him a very high status and power, far better than following Shi Dakai, whose future was uncertain and who was even somewhat embarrassed!

Although he remained wary of Hong Xiuquan, the immense temptation quickly tipped the scales in his mind. After much hesitation, he still wanted to return to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's system.

He carefully examined the imperial edict presented by the messenger, and sure enough, it was written in black and white, appointing him as the commander-in-chief of the central army and granting him many privileges, even allowing him to "obey orders but not summons," thus giving him considerable autonomy.

However, the imperial edict also explicitly required him to lead his troops away from Fujian as soon as possible, heading towards Jiangxi or Tianjing (Nanjing).

"The Heavenly King is... trying to use the Qing demons to eliminate Shi Dakai's 'rebel army'."

Yang Fuqing instantly understood Hong Xiuquan's deeper intentions.

But he felt no guilt about betraying Shi Dakai; in chaotic times, profit comes first.

He pondered for a moment, then said to the messenger, “Rest assured, Your Majesty, Shi Dakai has just suffered a defeat in Quzhou. He previously wrote to me requesting to go south to Fujian to join forces with me. I will immediately order my four cousins ​​in various cities of Jianning Prefecture to quickly assemble in Pucheng. After that, we will all march west to Jiangxi and submit to the Heavenly King!”

Five other people were given names by Yang Xiuqing at the same time as him: Yang Yuanqing, Yang Xiongqing, Yang Youqing, Yang Yingqing, and Yang Yiqing.

Including him and Yang Xiuqing, they were known as the Seven Yang Brothers in the Heavenly Kingdom.

It was precisely because of this that Yang Xiuqing's clan was able to grow in power and contend with the Wei and Shi clans.

Before he could finish speaking—

"boom!!!"

A deafening cannon blast suddenly rang out, shaking the earth and even sending dust flying from the rooftops!

He hadn't finished speaking yet.

A deafening cannon shot rang out, shaking the earth and startling the two men into exchanging bewildered glances.

"Yang Guozong, what happened? Have the Qing demons attacked?"

The envoy was terrified.

Yang Fuqing, a valiant general who had fought in Jiangxi, remained calm and shouted, "Guards! Guards! What's going on outside? What happened?"

Yang Yiqing was the only cousin who followed him in Pucheng, and he was also in charge of the specific affairs within the army.

No sooner had Yang Fuqing finished speaking than Yang Yiqing rushed in, her face filled with panic.

"Brother, something terrible has happened! A huge army has appeared outside, numbering thirty or forty thousand."

"An army of thirty or forty thousand men?" Yang Fuqing's expression changed. He had no more than thirty thousand men under his command, and he had divided his troops to defend five cities: Chong'an, Songxi, Zhenghe, Jianyang, and Pucheng.

There are only a little over 10,000 people in Pucheng now.

"Did you see clearly where the troops came from?" Yang Fuqing asked immediately.

Yang Yiqing shook his head blankly: "I don't know, it's a flag I've never seen before, it's called something like Restoration Army."

"The Restoration Army?!"

Inside the hall, Yang Fuqing and the Heavenly King's envoy were both taken aback upon hearing this unfamiliar name, and an ominous premonition rose in their hearts at the same time.

They had never heard of this name before.

However, before they could think it through, the shouts of killing outside did not subside. Instead, they grew louder and louder, crashing against the walls of the county government office like waves!
The sounds of clashing swords, the roars of soldiers, and their screams were clearly audible, interspersed with shouts of "Those who surrender will not be killed!" and "His Highness Prince Yi is benevolent!"

"How...how can that sound be so close?!" Yang Fuqing's expression changed drastically. Even if the defending troops were incompetent, they shouldn't have been defeated so quickly, even with the city walls as their support!

He shoved aside Yang Yiqing, who was trying to stop him, and strode towards the gate of the mansion.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, a lieutenant general, covered in blood and with his helmet askew, scrambled in, his voice trembling with sobs: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! The city...the city has fallen!"

"What?!" Yang Fuqing's eyes widened in fury as he grabbed the lieutenant's collar. "Nonsense! Over ten thousand men defending the city, even if it were made of paper, could hold out for several hours! How could it have fallen?!"

The lieutenant, his face ashen, cried out urgently, "It's...it's an inside man! The group of envoys from the Wing King who came to deliver the message a couple of days ago...they...they seized control of the North Gate during the chaos and opened the city gate!"
"When the brothers guarding the city saw the banner of His Highness the Wing King and heard that they were their own people, most of them...most of them did not resist and simply...laid their weapons!"

"Shi—Da—Kai—!" Yang Fuqing practically spat out the name through clenched teeth. A metallic taste rose in his throat, making him so angry that his vision blurred and he swayed.

He had planned everything, but he never expected Shi Dakai to be so unruly, nor did he expect that his prestige in the army would be so easily defeated in the face of the prestigious title of "Wing King"!
Yang Yiqing, who was standing to the side, was also stunned and murmured, "The Wing King... When did the Wing King's troops change their name to the 'Restoration Army'?"

His words, though not loud, struck the head of the Heavenly King's envoy beside him like a thunderclap.

"The Restoration Army... no longer calls itself the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom... the Wing King... he intends to establish himself completely and break with the Heavenly Kingdom!"

The envoy's face turned deathly pale, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

He was ordered to come and divide and win over the enemy, thinking it would be a piece of cake, but he didn't expect to run into Shi Dakai changing his flag and forcibly annexing the territory!

If this news gets back to Tianjing, it will surely cause a huge uproar!
Just then, a loud "boom" came from the direction of the county government gate, accompanied by flying wood chips and the guards' exclamations. It was clear that the enemy army had already reached the gate!
"Brother! Hurry! It'll be too late if we don't leave now!" Yang Yiqing was the first to react. He grabbed Yang Fuqing, who was trembling with anger, and shouted sternly to his personal guards, "Protect the Emperor! Go through the back door! Get to the stables quickly!"

(End of this chapter)