readsfreenovel Chapter 130 Unfinished Work
Chapter 130 Unfinished Work
Bolo was already getting restless as he looked at the battlefield. If the time went on, Meng Jun's troops would be exhausted and all the Eight Banners would be wiped out. Bolo suddenly felt a little regretful. It would be better to lose these supplies and let all the Eight Banners retreat safely to Fujian. These supplies could be obtained again sooner or later, but it was too late to regret now.
Seeing that the baggage train in the rear had gone far away, Bolo frowned and looked at the generals around him, the important Tulai, Nikan and Baiyingtu. Except for Tulai who was not injured, Nikan and Baiyingtu were still injured. Who should be left behind to cover the rear?
The battlefield ahead was still in chaos, with shouts of killing and the sound of weapons clashing. In the sky, the sun was approaching noon. After a fierce battle, the Qing army's originally neat front had been pushed back dozens of steps by the Meng army. However, at this moment, both the Meng and Qing soldiers were exhausted and seriously exhausted.
Seeing this, Meng Jun immediately issued an order: "Kewu Town, retreat and reorganize!" With his order, the soldiers of Kewu Town retreated like a tide. At the same time, the Changlin Town army, which had been waiting in the rear for a long time, began to slowly advance forward.
Bolo's face was gloomy. He was originally at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, but he did not expect Meng Jun to resort to a round-the-clock battle! Seeing the Eight Banners soldiers exhausted and morale low, Bolo knew that if this continued, the baggage train would be withdrawn and the army would be trapped. He had already planned to withdraw, but now the baggage train had been away for a whole morning. If the army did not get out quickly, it might be dragged to death by Meng Jun.
At this moment, Bolo noticed that the two army lines began to separate. Taking this opportunity, Bolo gave the order to withdraw without hesitation. He left behind 600 men under Surile of the Mongolian Eight Banners. In order to avoid making things too embarrassing, he transferred 500 men from the Manchu Eight Banners to serve as the rear guard to block the Mongolian army's pursuit. Bolo told Surile that they only needed to hold out for another half an hour before they could retreat. Then the other Eight Banners troops mounted their horses and galloped towards Xianxia Pass.
At the same time, Meng Jun saw Bolo leading his troops to retreat, so he immediately ordered Changlin Town to speed up their advance and break through the enemy in the rear, making sure Bolo could not escape easily.
Su Ri Le's face was so gloomy that it seemed like water could drip out of it. He cursed in his heart: "It has happened several times! Every time I was the one who stayed behind to cover the retreat!" Looking at the complex terrain in front of him, he couldn't help but feel desperate. Once the melee started, how would he escape? Thinking of this, Su Ri Le took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then turned around and whispered a few words to a guard beside him. After listening, the guard nodded to show that he understood, and then he quickly left Su Ri Le's side.
"Kill! The Tartars are trying to escape!" The Meng army soldiers roared excitedly, their voices resounding through the sky. Their eyes flashed with fiery light, as if they had seen the dawn of victory.
However, the Eight Banners troops at the rear were already pale with fear. They knew they were in danger of death. Despite this, they still gritted their teeth, held their positions, and refused to give up easily. Regardless of their positions, these Eight Banners soldiers were undoubtedly the synonym of strength of this era, enough to make the Ming army tremble in fear.
As the charge horn sounded, the Meng army rushed towards the enemy like a tide. They held sharp weapons and fought bravely without fear. Although the Eight Banners soldiers fought hard, they were outnumbered and were chopped down one after another.
Blood dyed the ground red, and the sounds of killing and screaming intertwined to form a tragic picture. However, the Meng army soldiers were not frightened by the tragic scene before them. Instead, they became more courageous and advanced step by step.
Su Rile could see clearly from the rear, but the line of more than a thousand people seemed so thin on this battlefield. Seeing that the Meng army had broken through, Su Rile made a prompt decision and was the first to ride on his warhorse. He said to the guards beside him: "Order the troops to withdraw." Then he took the lead and the group quickly chased in the direction of Bolo's disappearing route.
Just when Meng Jun defeated Surile's rear guard, Bai Yongfu arrived late with more than a thousand cavalrymen. Meng Jun was helpless about this. The situation on the battlefield changed at any time, so how could it be as punctual as an hourglass.
Meng Jun left Kewu Town to clean up the battlefield, and with Bai Yongfu's cavalry in the vanguard, Meng Jun personally led the two towns of Changlin and Wuning to continue chasing after Bolo.
Bai Yongfu led his men in pursuit for a while, but the road became more and more difficult to walk on. They had been chasing for less than half an hour when they saw dozens of baggage carts blocking their way. Gold and silver treasures were scattered all over the ground. Bai Yongfu's men all showed greedy looks. Bai Yongfu was also tempted by the treasures on the ground, but when he thought that this was a critical moment, if he stopped to pick up the silver, he would deeply offend Commander Meng. Bai Yongfu still knew which was more important, so he gritted his teeth and cursed: "The guards move the carts away, and no one else is allowed to get off the horse."
As the carriage was moved aside, Bai Yongfu and others rushed out one after another. Some of those with superb riding skills were quick to bend down and pick up some treasures.
By the early afternoon, Bai Yongfu had already seen the end of the Qing army and civilian workers' team from afar. They were moving forward slowly.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Bolo made a helpless decision to abandon half of the baggage. Bolo ordered some of the food, weapons and other baggage to be thrown away. Even a lot of gold and silver were thrown away. Bolo sighed in his heart: "Is it worth it to exchange the lives of nearly two thousand soldiers for these riches?"
After Bolo finished all this, the Eight Banners soldiers advanced rapidly towards Xianxia Pass. They knew that the key pass was ahead, and as long as they could reach there, they could temporarily escape from danger.
The further Bai Yongfu chased, the more vehicles there were in front of him, and the more civilians fled, until finally, he could hardly move forward. Bolo drove away most of the civilians, and more than 10,000 civilians were crowded here, along with a large amount of sundries such as horses and vehicles. Bai Yongfu had no choice but to send a fast horse to report to Meng Jun.
By nightfall, Bolo had retreated into Xianxia Pass, with only 5,600 men left in his Eight Banners, and more than 600 men under Li Chengdong's command, a total of more than 6,000 people, entering Fujian.
Meng Jun looked at the precipitous Xianxia Pass and sighed, "It's a pity that the mission was not completed." After Bolo entered Fujian, it was impossible for Meng Jun to attack Xianxia Pass again. The road of Xianxia Pass was rugged, making it difficult for the army to enter and exit.
"The governor has defeated Bolo several times, and he is already scared. If the governor recovers all of Zhejiang, it will be a great achievement for the country," Bai Yongfu said, shaking his head.
Meng Jun was not interested in listening to Bai Yongfu's flattery. He looked at the Zheng army who had just shaved their heads on the wall and sighed, "The Eastern Tartars are the most difficult to control." He then jumped on his horse and issued an order, "Withdraw!"
Afterwards, surrounded by his personal guards, he disappeared into the lush forests. This time when he returned, he had to prepare his troops, reorganize his men, store up food and grass, build a navy, and manufacture firearms, waiting for the right time.