As a rare talent in both civil and military affairs among the Manchu bannermen, Fukanggan had officially studied military textbooks. Seeing that the tide had turned, Fukanggan immediately dismounted, swapped clothes with his personal guards, and then blended into the ranks of the fleeing soldiers.
Zhu Jinsong stood on the west bank of the Xiaofu River, feeling like tens of thousands of flies were buzzing around in his head.
Thirty thousand fleeing soldiers, a full thirty thousand, dared not charge Zhu Jinsong's formation arrayed along the Xiaofu River, nor did they dare to attack Liu Hemming's First Division. They only knew to run for their lives along the official road they came from, without regard for their own safety. What was this?
Was it because the enemy was too incompetent, thus successfully disrupting their plan?
The key was that the plan was disrupted too damn successfully. Zhu Jinsong, the rebel leader, had only about two thousand infantry and artillerymen around him. Liu Hemming's First Division was even less equipped. Without cavalry support, how could they catch Fukanggan among these thirty thousand fleeing soldiers?
The difficulty was almost comparable to occupying Paris before France surrendered!
Furthermore, whether these thirty thousand fleeing soldiers ran or not wasn't the main issue. Agui still had fifty thousand troops under his command. By the time they found Fukanggan, Agui would likely have arrived with his troops.
However, just as Zhu Jinsong spat in frustration, about to abandon his plan to capture Fukanggan, someone among the fleeing Green Standard Army soldiers shouted loudly, "We surrender! We surrender!"
As the saying goes, the beginning is the hardest. With the first shout of surrender from the fleeing Green Standard Army soldiers, there came a second, a third, and then a large group of fleeing soldiers started shouting about surrendering.
Zhu Jinsong was stunned. Just as he was about to see what tricks those fleeing soldiers were up to, he saw the fleeing Green Standard Army soldiers first throw down their sabers and spears, then take off their clothes with the character "兵" (soldier) printed on them. They then all knelt down, covered their heads, and continued to shout, "We surrender! We surrender! We heard from our brothers in the Shandong Green Standard Army that if we surrender, you won't kill us. You can't go back on your word!"
As these fleeing 直隶 Green Standard Army soldiers shouted, the fleeing soldiers of the 直隶 Manchu Eight Banners also followed suit, throwing down their equipment, taking off their clothes, and then kneeling with their heads covered.
Zhu Jinsong was immediately dumbfounded.
Are these the Eight Banners and Green Standard Army soldiers that the Great Qing boasted about, soldiers who could charge under artillery fire?
Even if these thirty thousand troops had lost the courage to fight, they were still thirty thousand fleeing soldiers, and they had the numerical advantage. If they couldn't fight, surely they could escape??
Zhu Jinsong had heard that athlete's foot was contagious, but he never expected that surrendering could also be contagious!
However, the leading surrender of these Green Standard Army soldiers made things convenient for Liu Hemming's First Division.
The troops at Menglianggu had previously experienced the surrender of soldiers from the Yanzhou Military Preparations Office, the surrender of Eight Banners and Green Standard Army soldiers under Ming Xing, and the surrender of Eight Banners and Green Standard Army soldiers under Agui. They had long since developed the skills to accept prisoners.
To determine whether a prisoner was from the Eight Banners or the Green Standard Army, one only needed to look at their heads. This was because the Green Standard Army soldiers had some stubble on their heads, while the Manchu Eight Banners soldiers had very little.
Secondly, one had to observe their kneeling posture. The veteran Green Standard Army soldiers from Shandong would kneel on the ground, clasp their hands behind their heads, and remain motionless. In contrast, the Manchu Eight Banners soldiers would always have some small movements.
As for the rest, it could only depend on luck.
Coincidentally, Liu Hemming, the commander of the First Division, had good luck. Or perhaps Fukanggan was too unlucky. Compared to others, Fukanggan's head was not just about having stubble, nor was it about whether Fukanggan's kneeling posture was standard. It was that Fukanggan's head was so shiny, and the queue behind his head was not only more standard than others, but it was also tied with a golden ribbon!
Therefore, when Liu Hemming finished clearing the battlefield and brought Fukanggan before Zhu Jinsong, Zhu Jinsong was shocked.
With such an appearance and intelligence, was he still constantly invoked by countless Qing fangirls?
Seeing Zhu Jinsong zoning out after glancing at him, Fukanggan felt a surge of anger. Since he couldn't escape, he might as well die early. He then snorted coldly and said, "I thought you, Zhu the rebel, would have some extraordinary qualities given the great stir you've caused. Now it seems you are nothing special."
Zhu Jinsong was jolted awake by Fukanggan's voice. After glancing at Fukanggan again, he suddenly slapped him across the face and chuckled, "Can't look at people properly, can you? Or do all the Nine Gates Admirals like to look sideways?"
Fukanggan was instantly enraged. He glared at Zhu Jinsong and shouted, "You~"
Zhu Jinsong interrupted Fukanggan's words and said with a smile, "You what?"
Fukanggan became even angrier and shouted, "I~"
Zhu Jinsong once again interrupted Fukanggan's words and said with a smile, "I what? I originally thought of letting you be a great transport captain for us. Now it seems you don't have that opportunity."
Fukanggan snorted coldly, "Since I've fallen into your hands, do as you please, whether it's killing or torturing!"
Zhu Jinsong laughed heartily and said, "Don't worry, I, Zhu, have always disliked killing and torture. I don't kill or torture at the drop of a hat."
After speaking, Zhu Jinsong waved his hand, signaling for Fukanggan to be taken aside. He then said to Liu Hemming, "How are the casualties? Can we set up another ambush?"
Liu Hemming replied, "Reporting to the Great Chieftain, there are definitely casualties, but the Manchu soldiers collapsed too quickly, so our casualties were not high. Let alone another ambush, even two more ambushes, the First Division can guarantee the mission completion!"
Zhu Jinsong nodded. He looked at the Manchu Eight Banners prisoners kneeling all over the ground, and the fleeing 直隶 Green Standard Army soldiers. Suddenly, he asked inexplicably, "Tell me, were the Manchu soldiers led by Fukanggan elites?"
Upon Zhu Jinsong's question, Liu Hemming felt his brain struggling to keep up.
Elites?
These guys?
Let alone compared to the more than twenty thousand regular troops at Menglianggu, even compared to the local peasant association guards, they couldn't be considered elites, could they?
If these goods could be considered elites, then what were the troops at Menglianggu? Heavenly soldiers and generals?
As he was thinking, Liu Hemming suddenly realized.
Yes, compared to the army at Menglianggu, Fukanggan's Eight Banners and Green Standard Army were indeed rubbish. But compared to the Manchu soldiers, the elites of elites led by Fukanggan, the illegitimate son of Qian Long, must be the elites of elites. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been appointed as the vanguard.
In that case, wouldn't the twenty thousand Manchu bannermen and thirty thousand Green Standard Army soldiers under Agui, the Imperial Commissioner, be even more useless than the rubbish under Fukanggan?
So, was the Great Chieftain preparing to strike while the iron was hot and also eliminate Agui?
Thinking of this, Liu Hemming's heart immediately heated up, and he shouted, "Great Chieftain, just give the order! Our First Division fears no hardship or fatigue, only the lack of battle!"
Zhu Jinsong nodded and said, "Since that is the case, you will continue to lay in ambush later. However, your target will not be Agui's main army, but the rear army led by Fu Huan."
Ambush the Manchu rear army?
No, our First Division at Menglianggu is the main force of the main force, the direct lineage of the direct lineage. In the Hongwu era, it would be equivalent to the HuaiXi veterans. In the Yongle era, it would be equivalent to the Yanshan Left Guard. Letting Menglianggu's elite First Division ambush thirty thousand Green Standard Army soldiers is like using a great cannon to hit a mosquito!
Liu Hemming tentatively asked, "What does the Great Chieftain mean?"
Zhu Jinsong said, "It's still the same method as before. Erect a few more signs on the road, and use this dog slave Fukanggan as bait to lure Agui to Zichuan City."
"After Agui's main army crosses the river, your First Division will deal with the rear army led by Fu Huan on this side, and then attack from both sides to eliminate Agui's main army as well."
As Mr. Lu Xun said: In this world, only routines can be eternal.
Agui, the Imperial Commissioner, was in the main army, eating hot pot and humming songs, fantasizing about how to suppress the rebels entrenched in Menglianggu after their eradication, and then fantasizing about how to govern and bring peace to the world. Suddenly, he received the terrible news that the vanguard had suffered a crushing defeat and scattered, and Fukanggan's whereabouts were unknown.
The thinly sliced lamb carefully prepared by the cook fell into the bubbling pot, splashing a few drops of broth.
Woken by the soup from the pot, Agui suddenly felt a sharp pain in his testicles.
It was exactly the same!
When he led his troops to suppress the rebels at Anjia Village, it was like this. He was marching forward, and then he was inexplicably ambushed. So many Eight Banners soldiers and Green Standard Army soldiers under him had scattered in the blink of an eye!
The key was that he had successfully escaped, while Fukanggan, the great master, had suffered the fate of defeat and capture!
This was now a disaster. Although Fukanggan, the great master, did not have the title of prince, his importance in the Emperor's heart was higher than that of ordinary princes. If Fukanggan, the great master, was defeated and captured, and could not be rescued, who would be blamed in the end?
It would naturally be himself, the Imperial Commissioner! Otherwise, could it be Fukanggan, the great master?
To put it simply, if he didn't want to be in trouble, he had to quickly rescue Fukanggan, the great master, and then slaughter all the rebels in Zichuan and Menglianggu to vent the great master's anger. Only then could the matter of Fukanggan's defeat and capture be covered up.
But then again, Fukanggan, the great master, led ten thousand elite 直隶 armored Eight Banners, and those twenty thousand Green Standard Army soldiers were also elites who had fought in the wars of Dajinchuan and Burma. These thirty thousand troops were defeated. Could his own fifty thousand troops win?
Agui himself didn't believe such nonsense.
What was even more frustrating for Agui was that all the fleeing soldiers who had escaped numbered over twenty thousand, but not a single grain or military supply had been brought back. If he accepted these over twenty thousand fleeing soldiers, his central army's supplies would be tight. If he didn't accept these over twenty thousand fleeing soldiers...
Who knew how much trouble they could cause!
Of course, if it were only like this, then Agui, the Imperial Commissioner, would at most have to be frugal with his supplies. As long as he could last three to five days, Ming Xing would deliver the supplies, and he wouldn't be so bothered as to have a painful testicle.
However, among these over twenty thousand people, about twenty thousand were fleeing Green Standard Army soldiers, while the fleeing soldiers of the Eight Banners were nowhere to be found!
After a long period of mental torment, Agui finally made up his mind.
Fukanggan, the great master, must be rescued, but how to rescue him was very important.
If he directly led his fifty thousand central army and over twenty thousand fleeing soldiers to rescue the great master, the final result would likely be that the great master would not be rescued, and he himself, the Imperial Commissioner, would once again become a great transport captain for the rebels.
Therefore, rather than charging in like this to rescue the great master, it would be better to stop first and wait for Fu Huan's rear army to catch up. After all, Fu Huan's rear army also had some supplies. With the supplies of the central army and the rear army combined, it wouldn't be too difficult to allocate enough for over twenty thousand fleeing soldiers.
Moreover, Fu Huan was Fukanggan's nominal father. Now that he was going to rescue Fukanggan, the great master, he couldn't possibly leave Fu Huan aside, could he?