Chapter 157: The Battle of Tianjing
The battle between Pu Zixuan and the toddler monster occurred in western Zhejiang. Ten days later, on June 16, and early in the morning of July 19, 186, on another Jiangsu front, Su Sanniang, who was named Feng Yuliang, was standing proudly on the wall of Taiping Gate, Tianjing. She dressed as a man, and faced the main attack troops of the Hunan Army led by Zeng Guofan outside the wall. Against the backdrop of the full moon and the lights, her figure was as fierce and upright as she was in the adversity of Kunlun Mountain.
Before, when Su Sanniang heard about Hong Xiuquan's death, she knew that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was in danger and walked quickly from the Fairy Sword Hall. Six days before Pu Zixuan and his party arrived in Changhua County, they had already arrived at Tianjing, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Jiangsu Province.
At this time, the "Emperor" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had been replaced by Hong Tianguifu, who was only fourteen years old, and all military and political affairs were under the control of King Zhong Li Xiucheng. Since Li Xiucheng met "Feng Yuliang" when he was fighting for Anqing with Shi Da, and Tianjing was using materials, Su Sanniang won the trust of Li Xiucheng and the young king without any effort. She led the crowd to defend Tianjing in the name of "Sand King", and had resisted for more than half a month in a flash.
Although the final siege of this war had not yet begun, the entire process lasted for more than two years, from the time Zeng Guoquan's troops left Anqing to descend east in March 1862 AD.
From 1862 to May 1863, Su Sanniang was expanding territory in the southwest with Shi Dakai. Later, she encountered the demon king Xiqu strongly intervening and was defeated by the Dadu River. On the main battlefield in Jiangsu, Hong Xiuquan and his soldiers were alone and could not support them, and their controlled territory was constantly eroded by the Qing army.
In May 1862, the Hunan Army captured Dangtu, Wuhu, Banqiao, Moling Pass, Dasheng Pass, and Sanfan River. After approaching Yuhuatai, Tianjing was under direct threat from the Hunan Army.
On July 11, the southwestern barrier of Ningguo Prefecture in Anhui Province was captured. Yang Fuqing and Hong Renyu returned to Tianjing from southern Anhui to aid the Hunan Army at night and were defeated.
In the past year, although Hong Xiuquan ordered Li Xiucheng to fight back and occupy several cities, attempting to share the pressure on Tianjing, due to the shortage of food, the Hunan Army increased its troops. Li Xiucheng had to lead his troops from Jiujizhou to return to Beijing to serve the king in June 1863, and 100,000 people were killed and starved to death. At this time, Shi Dakai was tried in the Chengdu court and made a generous speech, making the presiding officer respect the truth and speechless, and then calmly died.
In September, Zeng Guoquan's troops captured the upper bridge in the southeast of Tianjing City and the Jiangdong Bridge in the southwest of the city. In November, they successively captured the upper gate, Gaoqiao Gate, Shuangqiao Gate, Qiqiao Gate, Moling Pass, Zhonghe Bridge Bridge, all the key points of the Taiping Army in the southwest of Zijin Mountain were lost. At this time, Su Sanniang had encountered Fu Yan on Fengzhou Island to seize the memory and was unable to return to help.
In February of 1864, the Hunan Army captured Tianbao City on the top of Zijin Mountain. In March, after Zeng Guoquan's troops surrounded Tianjing, they used cloud ladders to attack the city and were defeated by the Heavenly Defense Army.
In May, when Su Sanniang was fighting Qin Yong in Guangxi with the Fairy Sword Hall, Hong Xiuquan felt that the situation was hopeless and built the "Moon City" in Tianjing City, which had already been used to make the final resistance after the city was broken.
At this time, Zeng Guoquan's Xiang army was besieged by the city of 70,000, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom defenders had 140,000 "holy soldiers". King Zhong Li Xiucheng strongly advised Hong Xiuquan to abandon the city. After Hong Xiuquan scolded him, he further adopted the strategy of being a soldier for the whole people, proclaiming that God would come to save the heaven, and uniting the morale of the army, allowing the Hunan army to repeatedly try to siege the city but return in vain.
Just as the soldiers and civilians in the city saw a glimmer of light of survival, on June 1, Hong Xiuquan, the founder of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the spiritual leader of the past fourteen years, suddenly died of illness at the age of fifty.
After that, although almost all the remaining regular troops of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had gathered 30,000 and hundreds of thousands of militias, they deeply realized that the leader, known as the Son of God, was only a mortal. In an instant, the faith of worshipping God, which had been used for many years to gather strength, collapsed, and his morale fell to the bottom. The force of fighting was only three or four thousand, and he had to keep his death secretly.
However, after ten days, Zeng Guofan finally found out the news of Hong Xiuquan's death and began to mobilize a large number of troops to prepare for a general attack on Tianjing. In the early morning of July 19, mines were placed in the tunnel dug in advance on the east side of Taiping Gate to bomb the city wall. Before dawn, the city wall collapsed, and the two armies began a bloody and bloody battle.
This two-year war is called the "Tianjing Defense War"....
"Praise God as the Holy Father of Heaven, praise Jesus as the Savior, praise the Holy Spirit, praise the Holy Spirit. How can the true way be the same as the world, save people and enjoy endless blessings. The wise are excited and receive them as blessings. The foolish awaken, the road to heaven is open, the heavenly father is vast and boundless, and he does not care about the prince, sending him to the mortal world, people repent, and the soul can ascend to heaven..."
The saint soldiers who can fight, while reciting the last "Praise of the Holy Father", while using swords and guns to protect the last line of defense in life, making it difficult for the Hunan Army to cross the line even if they can reach the city wall.
The first batch of 400 Hunan troops climbed the city were all wiped out, and half of the vanguards were killed... The war continued until the hour of Mao. Although the sky had not yet lighted up, there were already thick smoke rolling around, and the corpses were covered with coldness, completely like a hellish scene on earth.
Just as the two sides were fighting to the death, suddenly, everyone on the city wall couldn't believe their eyes. A huge three-eyed monster bird suddenly flew in the sky. Its wingspan was about one meter long, and its whole body was covered with bright yellow and green feathers. Its four tails were slightly wide open, and its beak was like a vulture, making a shrill roar. Under that bright body, it seemed that the stars, moon, mountains and rivers also changed color in this shout.
The strange bird flew to the Taiping Gate Tower and attacked the already extremely difficult holy soldiers. They used their beak, wings and claws, but they were just a quick plunder. More than ten holy soldiers were pushed down the city wall.
The strange bird picked up a holy soldier and flew into the sky, bit his body into two pieces, swallowed the part of his chest, and waited for the other two pieces to fall naturally.
It seemed as if it had not preyed on the person it wanted to eat, it hovered in the sky and turned back, and rushed towards the city wall - this time, it locked its target more accurately for Su Sanniang.
"Be careful of the Sand King!" In a critical moment, a group of holy soldiers came over to raise their muskets and fired at the monster bird. The bullet "dangdang" hit the monster bird, but could not cause any damage to it.
In an instant, the holy soldier was overturned. Su Sanniang saw that the strange bird was coming fiercely and used the power of purification to avoid it sideways. The strange bird pounced on the air and flew into the sky again.
The Hunan Army seemed to be keen on attacking the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Although it was unknown, it was also inspired to be very energetic, as if the sword in the hands became fierce with the strange bird.
If the enemy was killed, the soldiers of the Heavenly Kingdom would die with dignity. However, the sudden appearance of this invincible monster caused their psychological defense to collapse instantly, and someone was scared to death: "What kind of monster is this?"
Li Xiucheng, the commander of the Heavenly Kingdom, also witnessed this scene on the city tower, rushed to Su Sanniang, and shouted: "King of Sha, don't let this strange bird hurt my holy soldier's life, let's kill it together!"
As soon as the words were finished, the strange bird flew to the other side. Li Xiucheng picked up the Park Sword and flew to the head of the strange bird. Although he was already a dragon among the people and had the courage of thousands of men, in front of the monster on this full moon night, no matter how strong the mortal was, he was just as weak as an ant. The knife slashed the head of the strange bird with a muffled sound. Li Xiucheng was already held by the strange bird with the sword and was about to be taken to the sky.
At the critical moment, Su Sanniang jumped up and grabbed one of the strange bird's claws, shouted loudly, and threw the monster bird to the ground. Then she rushed to the monster bird's head, and tried her best to open the monster bird's beak, saving Li Xiucheng.
Thinking about the fact that Su Sanniang wanted to knock down the burly magic craftsman to the ground in Sichuan, it was difficult for her to ascend to the sky. Now that she can fall over such a giant bird, the improvement of its purification power in Guangxi can be seen.
In an instant, the soldiers on both sides of the city wall had unconsciously retreated, leaving an empty area in the chaos.
Li Xiucheng had already put his life aside and was not very excited about escaping from death, but was shocked at Su Sanniang and said, "Why do you have such divine power?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the strange bird stood up again and rushed towards Su Sanniang.
Su Sanniang fell to the ground and dodged, and the strange bird pounced on the air and rushed towards the back. Su Sanniang did not stand up, seized this rare opportunity and shouted: "The Hunter of Heaven--"
Life is just a matter of time. Su Sanniang no longer cared about it. She transformed into bows and arrows in front of everyone, and tilted her body toward the tail of the monster bird.
The monster bird was caught in an arrow at its tail, and its body shook, then immediately turned around and returned. Su Sanniang jumped up with a carp, and her body rotated greatly and then shot an arrow head facing the monster bird.
In a very short time, the strange bird was naturally moving rapidly, but Su Sanniang was even more exaggerated. She completed two arrows and made a difficult move to get up and rotate, like a god descending to earth, shooting the strange bird's head through!
A monster that made many holy soldiers and powerful men Li Xiucheng unable to hurt him was killed by Su Sanniang alone!
The situation on the city wall was replaced by the Hunan Army's fear, while the morale of the Holy Soldiers was greatly boosted, and the killing power was as if it were a god.
Li Xiucheng was happy and surprised and said, "King Sha, who is the sacred place? If the Heavenly Father possessed him, can we help our army resolve the difficulties in Tianjing?"
Su Sanniang shook her head and said, "Sorry, King Zhong, I am not possessed by the Heavenly Father. You may have never heard of this kind of power. It is called the power of purification. However, it can only be used against such monsters and evil spirits, but it dare not use it on mortals. If it attacks mortals, it will disappear soon and I will be killed by the chaos army. But if King Zhong needs it, I will fight to the death to get the head on Zeng Yao's head and neck!"
Li Xiucheng looked at the enemy troops all over the mountains and fields under the wall, and could not judge Zeng Guofan's location at all, and sighed: "No need, let alone we cannot locate Zeng Yaotou. However, if you say that you are protecting Your Majesty and encounter some pursuers along the way, and kill them, it would be fine if your power disappeared. Why don't you let me stand here, Sha Wang, quickly return to the Heavenly King's Mansion, bring a thousand elite soldiers and generals to protect Your Majesty from the siege, okay?"
At this time, all the holy soldiers who could persist in fighting on the city wall were loyal and righteous people. When they heard this, someone stood up and shouted: "No, King Zhong, Heaven needs you, please escort Your Majesty with the King of Sha. We will be stationed here. If the Qing Yao breaks the city, we will fight with them, and we will definitely get enough time to evacuate you!"
The person who came was just an ordinary holy soldier. Li Xiucheng could not call out his name, but his words had already moved himself. He sighed: "I remember that the King of Yi Shi Dakai encountered a disaster in the Dadu River, and he was willing to exchange his life for the safety of thousands of soldiers. I was named "Eternal Loyalty and Righteousness" by His Majesty the Heavenly King. How could I see you dead in battle, but I became a deserter? Why would I follow the example of King of Yi, and use my head to exchange for your safety, and also exchange for both loyalty and righteousness in the world!"
The holy soldier immediately resisted: "King Zhong must not! Today's situation is different from the past. Now the demon head aims to completely eliminate our heavenly kingdom. Only the two sides have a life-and-death battle, and there is no room for compromise! The current plan is to rely on King Zhong, you and Your Majesty to leave, because only King Zhong can help our heavenly kingdom be revived again!"
At this time, the sky was slightly brighter and the moon had not yet set. Half a red sun had appeared on the top of the mountain to the east. Just as the two were arguing, Su Sanniang had already concentrated on sensing the demonic energy everywhere. As expected, a large number of demonic powers appeared at the end of the Hunan Army's large army far away.
If the strange birds attacked alone, it might just be coming to my heart, but if such a pattern appeared on the full moon night, I am afraid that it could only be attributed to the Hunan Army having begun to use its demonic power!
Thinking of this, Su Sanniang advised Li Xiucheng to say: "King Zhong, I can't explain the evil spirit for a while, but please believe me, it is definitely not a coincidence that Qing Yao chose to attack Tianjing when the demon power is the strongest on the full moon night. Just as I encountered a flood in the Dadu River last year with King Yi, it has been confirmed that it was the cause of the demon power. If the capital city is broken today, it is a foregone conclusion. If there is any hesitation, more and stronger monsters will break into the city. By then, all of us, including Your Majesty, and the people in the city, will be tragically slaughtered! Please do not hesitate and go to the Heavenly King's Mansion with me immediately to escort Your Majesty!"
If it weren't for the strange bird and Su Sanniang's divine power, Li Xiucheng would definitely refuse to accept it, but Su Sanniang's words had already analyzed the interests clearly. Although Li Xiucheng was unwilling to accept it, his reason told him that there was nothing else to do at this time, so he nodded with difficulty.
Before leaving, Li Xiucheng hugged the unknown holy soldier tightly, with tears in his eyes and whispered: "Brother, please!"
On June 16, 2018, 2018, 2018, 2018, 2018, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Tianjing, was captured by the Hunan Army, declaring the failure of the fourteen-year Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement. King Zhong Li Xiucheng led more than 1,000 holy soldiers, and brought the young Heavenly King Hong Tianguifu to disguise himself as the Hunan Army and broke out from the gap in the Taiping Gate and broke into the direction of Xiaolingwei. The defenders in the city launched street fighting with the Hunan Army entering the city, most of which died in battle, and one of them was burned.
Chapter completed!