The commander-in-chief of the Eight-Nation Allied Forces, General Jackson, was listening to the battle report and felt that one was bigger than the other.
At first they were unstoppable and broke through four barricades at once. Just when Jackson thought he could have dinner at the Governor's Mansion before dark, a sudden change occurred.
The Tang people's military strength suddenly more than doubled, and the white lotus sect came out of nowhere. They fought side by side with the imperial officers and soldiers who had always regarded them as enemies.
This posed a great threat to the Eight-Nation Allied Forces.
In the houses, private houses, and alleys on both sides, several soldiers would appear without warning, get into the ranks of the coalition forces, and fight at close quarters, disrupting their formation.
Under the attack of these two, the offensive of the Eight-Nation Allied Forces was hindered, stalled for a while, and began to suffer more casualties than before.
He felt quite strange, feeling that this was no longer a relaxing and pleasant trip, but a real war, not much easier than the war they fought in Europe and West Asia.
"General."
A man covered in a cloak approached and said, "General, if you give an order, the Sivir family is willing to serve you and attack the enemy."
"Count Sivir, thank you for your kindness."
General Jackson touched the golden stubble on his beard, "However, I have always known that a good knife must be used in the right place. Now is not the time for you to launch special operations.
Let's wait until evening, and please believe that our soldiers are a group of proud and brave people, and they will not be blocked because of this. ”
"Of course I believe it."
Count Sivir, who was shrouded in a cloak, stepped aside and said, "I wish you all the best."
"Thank you."
Jackson waved to the herald to come forward and then issued a series of orders to him.
When the herald heard the order, his eyes widened in surprise, then he showed a clear smile and accepted the order.
Although they were on the edge of the war, they were always far away from the terrible fighting and in a safe position.
As for Nie Huo and Division Iron Soldier, who pierced the Eight-Nation Allied Forces as a short sword, they really fell into hell.
After crossing the fourth barricade, there were gaps in the formation and ammunition of the Eight-Nation Allied Forces, which was not enough to withstand the White Lotus Sect's massive charge.
Although they were hit by bullets in rows, the fanatical soldiers of the White Lotus Sect soon ran into the ranks of the Eight-Nation Allied Forces one after another, and started bloody close combat.
The division iron soldier led his men over the eaves and over the wall, holding his ebony spear in one hand and the arm-length red tassel knife in the other, fighting and fighting among the crowd, creating a bloody storm wherever he went.
The two sides cooperated very well. With this wave of assistance, the officers and soldiers also reorganized their formation, restored morale and order, and made a comeback.
The frontline commanders of the Eight-Nation Allied Forces waved their sabers and fired with pistols. At this time, they realized that the situation was not good.
The balance of the war may still be on their side in the overall situation, but in small local battles, it has definitely tipped to the enemy's side.
For the little people like them at the front, this imbalance often means a shocking disaster that is enough to cause them to be destroyed and defeated.
Ren Qi stood on the jade tower, watching the situation, and had the same feeling.
That is, this is a victory in a small situation, and the overall situation has not changed yet.
Others couldn't see it and just said excitedly: "Master Qi, I think if this continues, if we don't enter the scene, when the Eight-Nation Allied Forces retreat, it won't be our turn to show off our power."
Ren Qi didn't answer, but felt that it was not that simple, because this was just the beginning.
After a while, Chen Tianyou pointed forward, "The Eight-Nation Allied Forces have begun to retreat!"
"Really, they are exiting the barricades!"
Visibly to the naked eye, the Eight-Nation Allied Forces soldiers were covering each other and retreating alternately under the command of frontline sergeants.
Although it is in good order, it is indeed retreating.
But Nie Huo, Shi Tiebing and others did not intend to let them go, but pursued the victory and pursued the Eight-Nation Allied Forces.
"Don't chase the poor bandits." Chen Tianyou shouted.
Ren Qi also saw the recklessness of this behavior. However, the battlefield was like this, orderly and orderly and prohibitive was only an ideal situation.
Chaos and loss of control are the norm.
Under normal circumstances, it would take at least twenty minutes to reach the front line after issuing an order from here, and during these twenty minutes, things might change again.
No matter how clever the generals are, they cannot correct or rectify the behavior of their subordinates immediately. All they can do is try to get these people to act according to the original plan.
Therefore, when he saw the soldiers under Nie Huo and others pursuing forward, there was no change in their faces. He knew that if the Eight-Nation Allied Forces could not form a strong counterattack, they might still be able to pursue them for a while.
If the Eight-Nation Allied Forces organized a counterattack, Nie Huo and the others would naturally retreat after suffering a bitter taste, just like the original arrangement.
However, a roar of thunder shredded all the sounds of fighting on the battlefield.
The Eight-Power Allied Forces set up cannons on the street!
Nie Huo and the division's iron soldiers noticed the appearance of the cannon and began to call for everyone to retreat, when the cannonballs roared into the crowd and the house.
Blood mist, a puff of blood mist appeared on the streets of Jinmen.
Nie Huo's eyes widened, and when he saw a brother riding a horse, and both the man and the horse were smashed into pieces by the cannonballs, the corners of his eyes almost burst with anger.
The shells fell, smashing the houses and bringing up strong winds and brick fragments. They could knock down a group of people in the blink of an eye, and the soldiers who had been charging forward almost suffered a disaster.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
Nie Huo called for everyone to retreat, his eardrums were vibrating with thunder, and his cloak was almost torn by the strong wind.
Blocks of houses were knocked down, and barricades were torn apart like brittle paper in the face of shells.
After only two or three rounds of shelling, the original pursuit formation was completely shattered, and everyone could only run away to avoid the wrath of the cannon.
Under the cover of artillery fire, the Eight-Power Allied Forces reorganized their formation and began to march again.
The Sikh cavalrymen who were originally repelled held their breath, roared and rushed to the front again, and began to chase and kill those who were escaping nearby.
Without the obstacles of the barricades, the streets of Jinmen became their best racecourse. Each one rushed faster than the other, killing the soldiers' lives with the sword in their hands.
Nie Huo watched everyone die under the blades of the Sikh cavalry, and couldn't help but think of what Ren Qi had said before.
"It doesn't matter if you die early or late."
He drew his weapon and began to call for the surrounding White Lotus brothers to gather and form a battle line.
Qin Lang was the messenger. At this time, he relied on Qinggong to pass through the artillery fire and came to Nie Huo. He said to him: "King Nie Xian, it is time to retreat. You must not waste the opportunity to retreat."
"Time to retreat?"
Nie Huo smiled slightly, "We have had the opportunity to leave Tianjin many times in the past, but we did not do so. Now that the battle has reached this point, how can we retreat?"
"I mean retreat to the rear and reorganize the front."
Qin Lang was almost speaking at the top of his lungs, because the sound of gunfire was overwhelming all sounds. "That opportunity has been missed."
Nie Huo said seriously: "Even if we ignore our heads and just run towards our own front, I'm afraid half of us will be killed by those Sikh cavalry.
There is no point in returning such a defeated army to the front except causing chaos.
And now the barricades can no longer stop the cavalry. Only by reorganizing the rear and gathering troops can we have a chance to withstand their offensive. ”
"Even if it's only half, King Nie Xian, the life of every White Lotus sect brother is very precious." Qin Lang advised.
"It is precisely because they are so precious that all their lives must be used here to block the enemy's edge and find opportunities for our colleagues to escape and win."
Nie Huo and the White Lotus Sect had made up their minds, and Qin Lang didn't know what to say.
"Go back by yourself, Brother Qin."
Nie Huokang looked tragic: "Now the White Lotus Sect is destined to become a part of the dust of history, and no one can save the White Lotus Holy Sect.
Rather than asking us to gradually decline and die like this, and finally become nothing more than an existence mentioned by others, it is better to ask us to die fighting here and become the heroes of Tianjin.
But it is not up to us whether we become heroes, whether our death has meaning, because we are already dead. ”
He grabbed Qin Lang's shoulders and said solemnly: "You go back and tell Ren Qi how others will evaluate our White Lotus Sect in the future. We died here and held back the cavalry of the Eight-Power Allied Forces. Is it a meaningful feat or a stupid sacrifice? These reputations Whether it is positive or not does not depend on us, but on him
We gave everything to him. ”
After speaking, Nie Jianjun stepped out, grabbed the fallen flag on the ground, and shouted the same slogan written on the flag loudly.
"No birth mother, empty hometown!"
"No birth mother, empty hometown!"
The surrounding White Lotus cultists responded in unison.
Seeing this scene, Qin Lang knew that any more words he said would be an insult to the people of the White Lotus Sect, so he solemnly clasped his fists and ran towards his own front without looking back.
The cavalry chasing the deserters have also discovered the movements of the White Lotus Sect.
At this time, they used extremely high discipline and tactical cooperation to form a wall, almost knee to knee, horse head to horse head, and they uniformly attacked the White Lotus Sect. The sound of horse hooves on the ground was actually louder than guns. To make people feel terrible.
The black wave was sweeping towards them.
Everyone around Nie Huo looked at death as though he were dead.
However, there are always people who feel scared. A boy who looks like he is in his early teens has his hands starting to shake.
"Are you afraid!?" Nie Huo asked him.
"No, not afraid..."
"If you weren't afraid, why would I see you crying?"
The young man couldn't answer. After holding it in for a long time, he could only admit, "I don't want to die so early."
"Since you don't want to die early, you shouldn't join the White Lotus Sect."
The young man hesitated for a moment, and finally choked up and said: "My father and my uncle are all from the White Lotus Sect. They have all been martyred, so I should die here fighting with everyone, and that's how it should be."
"Nothing is ever as it should be, especially when it comes to death."
Nie Huo stared at the boy closely, "You just need to answer me, do you want to leave?"
The boy couldn't stop crying and still shook his head, "I won't leave."
"If you want to leave, I will help you leave. The White Lotus Sect never makes things difficult for its own people, nor does it harm its own people. If you want to leave, just leave openly. No one will stab you in the back."< br>
Although the young man wanted to act very heroic, his trembling and tears could not be deceived, nor could he stop them, even though he had dug his nails deep into his palms.
"I don't want foreigners to look down on me!" the young man shouted hoarsely.
"Okay! Have some backbone! The most important thing for us as human beings is not to be looked down upon by others."
Nie Huo's eyes turned red. He took off his headband and tied the boy's knife and hand tightly together.
"I'm here to help you and teach you to be a real man. There is no coward in our White Lotus Sect from top to bottom. Even if you are beheaded and bleeding, you will still have brothers and sisters to accompany you!"
The cavalry had already crashed into the crowd at this time, bringing up a cloud of blood mist.
The sound of bones breaking, screams and howls intertwined, and the sound of gold and iron colliding shook everyone's souls.
Nie Huo held a flag in one hand and a knife in the other, leading the White Lotus and the Sikh cavalry into collision. Even though the swords of the West Asian cavalry were flying up and down, they never took a step back. They just fought and died.
Ren Qi had a panoramic view of everything on the Jade Tower, his face expressionless.
He issued an order to Chen Tianyou, who was already in tears.
"That's almost it. Let the musketeers go to the square and stand by. Remember, no matter what, wait until the enemy is within fifty steps before firing together.
Before the enemy enters that distance, no matter how he is attacked, you are not allowed to fight back without authorization. Do you understand? ”
"Take orders!"
Chen Tianyou couldn't wait, jumped on his horse, and galloped behind to command his musketry team.
Yan Feng has been standing aside for a long time. He is a person who can endure his temper, and he is also someone who vaguely knows Ren Qi's style of behavior and battle plan.
So he just asked: "When will it be our turn?"
Ren Qi glanced at him and gave him another order instead of answering him.
"You bring some people, load the jade tower with explosives, and blow it up."
"Blow it up?" Yan Feng was a little surprised.
"That's right, just blow this place up. The cleaner it is, the better."
Ren Qi said as he started to go downstairs, "There is no point here anymore. Just put the explosives in a place where they can easily ignite. That's all.
Don't be stingy, we still have a lot of explosives that we won't need. ”
Yan Feng was very puzzled, but this was Ren Qi's order, so he obeyed and began to direct everyone to move explosives into the Jade Tower.
Ren Qi gradually went down from the fifth floor. The artillery fire was approaching, destroying the houses one after another. Smoke and dust were everywhere, gradually covering up the sun.
At this time, Ren Qi suddenly felt a little cold, even though it was a hot summer day.
He put his hand on the sword, and the hilt made a faint sound and vibration. (End of chapter)