When the rush march really started, Ding Qirui looked a little embarrassed. In any case, he was the governor of water transportation. Unlike the sergeants below, he didn't have to rush in the wind and rain, let alone endure hardships. But the situation now is different.

Tens of thousands of bandits were chasing after them. If they did not march quickly to Hongxian County, they would probably be surrounded and defeated. By that time, he, the governor of water transportation, might be even more embarrassed.

Therefore, Ding Qirui gritted his teeth and hit the horse, regardless of the pain in his body, let alone the dizziness in his mind.

Scouts also come to report the news detected along the way.

Nearly half an hour passed during the rapid march, but no bandits were found along the way. This further confirmed Ding Qirui's judgment. The chasing bandits should have been sent by Zhang Xianzhong. Their main purpose was to prevent his army from returning to Huai'an City.

, so it is crucial for the army to arrive at Hongxian County as soon as possible.

The deputy general followed Ding Qirui.

Ding Qirui's mind was running rapidly. He rarely gave orders to his lieutenants. The only time he gave an order was to ask the army to speed up their march.

The 10,000 sergeants under his command are mainly infantry, and there are only 2,000 cavalry, so the marching speed cannot be very fast. The 2,000 cavalry are distributed in the middle and the end of the marching team, with 1,000 in the middle, 1,000 at the end, and the cavalry.

It is impossible to place them at the front of the team, because they march at the fastest speed and can open up a distance from the main group of people without paying attention.

In the march at this moment, it is crucial for the 10,000 sergeants to form a unit.

There are only fifty soldiers around Ding Qirui, and these soldiers are all temporarily transferred. As the governor of water transport and the general soldier of water transport, Ding Qirui's main responsibility is still in the governor's palace of water transport. He rarely cares about the matters of water transport soldiers. Generally,

Under the circumstances, there is no need for personal guards. However, for this expedition, in order to reflect the status, only fifty personal soldiers were arranged around him.

The soldiers are always by his side, and they do their duty very well.

"Report, there are still thirty miles away from Hongxian County, and no bandits have been found ahead..."

After hearing the news reported by the scouts, Ding Qirui breathed a sigh of relief, and the deputy general next to him even showed a smile on his face.

"I know, let's go investigate again and report any information as soon as possible."

After the scout left, the deputy general looked at Ding Qirui and spoke.

"Your Excellency is really clever..."

Ding Qirui frowned and waved his hand. It wasn't that he didn't like compliments, but the pain in his body. He had to march for thirty miles in a row, thinking all the time, and worrying about the chasing bandits. Ding Qirui didn't want to experience this feeling for the first time.

Second time.

"Okay, stop saying these words and tell all the sergeants that we must persist and arrive at Hongxian County in one go. As long as we arrive at Hongxian County, we will defeat the rogue bandits' conspiracy..."

The deputy general clasped his fists at Ding Qirui, turned his horse's head, and led the messenger to give the order in person.

Ding Qirui looked at the deputy general's back and nodded slightly. He had never paid attention to this deputy general before. Now it seems that this deputy general is not bad. After dealing with Zhang Xianzhong, he can find a way to recommend this deputy general to the court.

A few minutes passed and the lieutenant came back.

Zhang Xianzhong looked at the deputy general who was slightly pale and panting slightly, nodded and spoke.

"You have worked very hard during this march. I think that after returning to Huai'an City, you will be responsible for commanding the battle to protect the city. From now on, you will have to shoulder more of the task of protecting Huai'an City and the water transport terminal..."

The deputy general was stunned for a moment, then a humble smile appeared on his face.

"Sir, it's not hard for me to be a lowly official. These are all things I should do. Your Excellency is so clever and clever. I am so impressed that I am so impressed..."

A smile appeared on Ding Qirui's face. This time he did not hide his emotions. Being able to cultivate a confidant among the canal soldiers was not a bad thing. Although doing so was not in line with the rules of the court, the situation was so chaotic.

How can the emperor and the court care about these things? For example, Wu Zongrui, the governor of Jiliao, Sun Chuanting, the governor of the five provinces, etc., all personally command the army in battle. They have enough sergeants under their command and a large number of confidants in the army. Only he

Although the governor of water transport and the commander-in-chief of water transport had tens of thousands of water transport soldiers under his command, he had almost no confidants.

"Well, needless to say, you did a good job. I used to be busy with the affairs of the governor's office and rarely asked about transporting soldiers. This time, the rogue Zhang Xianzhong invaded Nanzhili and taught me a big lesson. I will still do it in the future.

Pay more attention to the matter of transporting troops by water, discover some talents, and recommend them to the emperor and the court..."

The deputy general's eyes almost narrowed into slits.

"Sir, I will do my best to live up to your expectations. By the way, there are too few soldiers around you. I have also dispatched some elite sergeants to protect you..."

"No need, we'll wait until we get to Hong County. The most important thing now is to maintain a fast march and reach Hong County as soon as possible. All sergeants must not slack off."

"Yes, I will go and convey your order right now, requiring all sergeants not to slack off and arrive at Hongxian County as soon as possible."

...

When arrows rained from the sky and the sergeant's screams appeared, Ding Qirui was a little confused.

The scouts investigated along the way and found no rogue bandits. Why was the army suddenly attacked by a hail of arrows?

Ding Qirui would not think that this was an attack by bandits. There were no bandits who were not afraid of death in front of the imperial army.

When the deputy general rode over, his face was pale and his body was trembling slightly.

"Sir, sir, a large number of rogue bandits were discovered on the left wing. The number is difficult to determine at the moment. I, we must have been ambushed by rogue bandits. I will escort you to evacuate..."

Ding Qirui's eyes suddenly turned red and his mind became a little confused.

"You, what did you say? A large number of bandits were discovered and we were ambushed..."

Seeing the confused Ding Qirui, the deputy general became anxious, but he could not lose his temper.

"Sir, we should have encountered an ambush by rogue bandits. There is no time. I will escort you to evacuate immediately. We must get rid of the ambush of rogue bandits..."

Ding Qirui's body trembled and he suddenly understood.

"I know, it turns out that all the rogue bandits have arrived in Hong County. Pass my order, and the army will quickly retreat towards Lingbi County. Go and convey the order, and the army will evacuate towards Lingbi County as quickly as possible.

..."

The deputy general did not move, looked at Ding Qirui, and spoke again.

"It's too late, sir, the army can't all evacuate..."

Deafening shouts spread, and rumbling drums sounded.

The team was already in chaos. In the middle of the woods on the left, countless bandits rushed towards them, shouting...

The deputy general looked at Ding Qirui, clasped his fists and spoke.

"Your Excellency, I will keep your friendship with you in my heart. I will go to command the sergeants to fight. Your Excellency, please rush towards Hong County. We cannot evacuate towards Lingbi County now. There are still tens of thousands of people behind us."

If the rogue bandits evacuate toward Lingbi County, no one will be able to survive. Only by attacking in the direction of Hongxian County, it is possible to escape the ambush of the rogue bandits..."

Before Ding Qirui could speak, the lieutenant turned his horse's head, pulled out the steel knife from his waist, and charged forward.

Fifty soldiers were guarding Ding Qirui, waiting for orders.

Ding Qirui, who had never experienced such a situation before, didn't know how to issue an order for a while.

In just a few minutes, the left and right wings of the army were all densely packed with rogues who were charging forward. Some soldiers resisted hard, but because there were too many rogues, they fell screaming after killing several rogues.

Got off...

The deputy general rushed over again and saw Ding Qirui who was still there, his face instantly turned red.

"Sir, why haven't you evacuated yet? The bandits have surrounded us. There are at least 100,000 of them. You should evacuate as soon as possible. I will issue an order to evacuate each one immediately..."

The fearful look on Ding Qirui's face has disappeared, replaced by a rather decisive look.

"Hurry up and command the sergeants to fight, and leave me alone..."

The deputy general looked at Ding Qirui, sighed heavily, turned his horse's head and left again.

Ding Qirui looked at the soldiers beside him and spoke with an indifferent expression.

"We are evacuating in the direction of Hongxian County. We must rush out..."

...

In less than ten minutes, the army was completely surrounded by rogue bandits, and the rogue bandits began to shrink their formation, dividing and surrounding the army. Everyone knew that if it was divided and surrounded by an opponent with an absolute advantage in military strength, it would mean complete failure.

The deputy general was shouting desperately, but unfortunately his shouts did not have much effect. There were too many bandits. Although their fighting power was not strong, they seemed not to be afraid of death. They charged at all costs, and some sergeants fell in a pool of blood.

, more sergeants began to retreat step by step, and were constantly compressed by the charging bandits, and were gradually separated.

The deputy general looked up to the sky and sighed, turned his horse's head, and prepared to evacuate in the direction of Hongxian County. He knew very well that the situation was over, and at this time, they had no choice but to escape for their lives.

When hundreds of bandits on horseback rushed over, the deputy general's face turned pale, and he found that he was being stared at by the bandits.

While shouting and roaring towards the bandits, the lieutenant completely ignored life and death.

...

A spear stabbed his thigh. The deputy general's eyes widened and he roared angrily. He raised the steel knife in his hand and chopped down the bandit who was holding the gun in front of him. The bandit screamed and fell down, throwing away the spear in his hand.

More spears came from behind, left and right, and the deputy general was poked in the back. The cotton armor helped him block the head of the spear, but the bone-piercing pain made him dizzy. This moment of dizziness made him pause for a moment.

His legs and arms were stabbed by spears, and the deputy general's consciousness instantly became blurred. His eyes widened, and he could faintly see Lord Ding Qirui not far ahead, who seemed to be surrounded by rogue bandits.

"ah..."

The deputy general swung the steel knife in his hand again, but unfortunately, all his strength disappeared quickly along the wounds...

"Pfft..."

A sharp spear passed through the deputy general's shoulder.
Chapter completed!