Dominate the Country

On the afternoon of the 26th, Chen Ming led a large force to attack Jinchuan Gate and marched into Nanjing.

For the people in Nanjing, this day is always worth remembering. The arrival of the Fuhan Army's large force announced the complete elimination of the Manchu Qing threat to Nanjing. Although there are still many people in Nanjing who commemorate the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, they all know that if Nanjing is really captured by the Qing army, what awaits them will be very, very unpleasant.

News of the Danyang Battle was sent to Nanjing at dusk. Chen Ming did not expect that on the day he led his army to Nanjing, the Fuhan Army and the Qing Army would have their first major collision on land.

Huang Jie led more than 10,000 troops and faced the attack of Feng Sheng's 50,000 Qing troops. He fought a head-on battle without showing any weakness.

The result ended with Fengsheng's voluntary retreat. The Fuhan army defeated the front army sent by Fengsheng'e, but under the watchful eyes of the Qing army's cavalry, Huang Jie did not dare to let go and let the infantry charge. Fengsheng'e immediately pulled back the defeated former army troops and then evacuated the battlefield.

The Han Army's most serious losses in this battle were the 1st Battalion of the 1st Guarding Division. They blocked Duan Xiulin's side breakthrough with one battalion, buying time for the following six battalions of infantry brigades. But after the war, a count showed that nearly one-third of the entire First Battalion had been killed or wounded.

The Qing army left more than two thousand corpses on the battlefield alone. Many were killed by cannons, and some were recovered by them.

The artillery of the Fuhan Army played an absolute role in this battle. Whether it was the counter-suppression of the Qing Army's artillery fire or the bombardment of the Qing Army's infantry, artillery + explosive shells played an important role in this war. There is no doubt about it.

"Your Highness, this is the report handed over by the staff department." The next day Liu Wu took the report handed over by the staff department and handed it to Chen Ming.

Chen Ming didn't read it and asked Liu Wu to read it to him. The staff concluded three points: First, the explosive bullets are more suppressive than the iron bullets. Especially when dealing with enemy artillery, the effect of concentrating firepower and covering fire is very obvious; secondly, the combat effectiveness of the Qing army has not been qualitatively improved; thirdly, in future operations, our army can completely focus on artillery groups and bombard The other party's positions and camps force the other party to come out and take the initiative to attack our positions.

In the "eyes" of the general staff, if the Fuhan army was on the defensive and the Qing army took the initiative to attack, then they would be risking their lives.

From the artillery bombardment four or five miles away, to the mortar artillery group within one mile, and then the flying thunder cannons and tiger crouching cannons, plus grenades and volley guns, there is no need for any solid fortifications to provide cover. It is just this layer upon layer. Die's firepower is an insurmountable 'Great Wall'!

Therefore, the troops should focus on using the offensive power of the artillery group. Their combat plan requires more and more powerful artillery.

"Your Highness, the General Staff also submitted a special bomb report, which was proposed by Gao Yanming." This report was so special, so sudden, so unexpected and weird to Liu Wu. The report was very short, and it was an idea that suddenly popped up by Gao Yanming - tunnel defense against the Qing army!

Gao Yanming made some suggestions. He was inspired by the "poisonous fire bombs" in the history books. He believed that the army could deploy some special bombs filled with spicy and pungent substances such as chili powder and mustard to deal with the poisonous fire bombs hidden in the tunnels. The enemy must have miraculous effects.

This report seemed to be just a quick thought, and it was submitted to the staff in a very solemn and formal manner. Liu Wu took it all together.

"Did this guy get spicy when eating chili peppers?" This was Chen Ming's first reaction after hearing Gao Yanming's suggestion. But then he felt that this method was useless before it was tried. But shouldn't this weird method be thought up by Chen Ming, a time traveler? Why did Gao Yanming suddenly want to use poison gas bombs?

Chen Ming asked Liu Wu to call Gao Yanming.

"Your Highness." Gao Yanming, who was not wearing armor, was taller than Liu Wu and had a straight back, but his secret was revealed as soon as he spoke. His voice...

"What's wrong with your throat?"

"I made a bet with someone yesterday and ate six chili peppers..."

"So you came up with this special bomb?"

"I thought of it accidentally when I was lying in bed and couldn't sleep. After thinking about it carefully, I thought it was a good idea."

"Then you will lead people to get out the special bombs yourself. The army only stayed in Nanjing for two days, and on the 29th, they left the city and rushed to the Changzhou battlefield. After the Changzhou Qing army had a great battle, they already knew how powerful they were, and they completely withdrew their weapons. A dense line of tunnels has been dug outside the city. If this special bomb can really be effective..."

Chen Ming glanced at Gao Yanming's military rank and said, "I'll give you a new one!"

"This thing will definitely be useful." Gao Yanming's eyes sparkled, and his whole body seemed to be glowing. He took the note written by Chen Ming and left happily.

Chen Ming waited in Nanjing for two days and sent the 17th Brigade of the Fourth Division to Yangzhou. He did not take time to meet with Nanjing's civilian officials or the gentry in Nanjing. He really rested for two days. On the 29th, Early in the morning, the mighty fleet arrived from Nanjing directly to Zhenjiang, and then transferred to the canal. Chen Ming only spent one night in Zhenjiang City, and the army flew down to Changzhou along the canal.

At this time, the Qing army in Changzhou had gathered a total of 70,000 to 80,000 people, and seven out of ten brave soldiers and civilians from the entire Jiangnan area had gathered here.

But as the commander-in-chief, Fengsheng'e had no idea at all. The soldiers and horses that arrived from Suhang and Songjiang in the past few days brought him forty or fifty cannons, and Yin Jishan even sent him five hundred thousand taels of silver. and a large amount of grain and baggage.

Spending lots of silver and rewarding the whole army with wine, meat, and rice can make the Qing army in Changzhou brave and motivated, but this silver and wine can't stop Chen Ni's artillery?

Feng Sheng'e trembled mentally whenever he thought of the overwhelming artillery of the Fu Han army a few days ago. He regretted why he wanted to pinch Huang Jie, and he squeezed the morale of his men in an instant. Fifty thousand Qing troops couldn't beat Huang Jie, who had more than ten thousand people. Now Chen Ming, who was more famous, brought a large army to Changzhou. What chance did the Qing army have of winning?

If Feng Sheng'e made his own decision, he would not fight this decisive battle, he would retreat! Lose Changzhou, lose Suzhou, lose Songjiang...

The team kept retreating, stretching the Fu Han army, and using cavalry to harass their logistics line until the Fu Han army's front was blunted, and then it would not be too late to fight another decisive battle.

But he was not the emperor, and he had to fight this battle. The emperor of Beijing cannot afford to lose Jiangnan. Even Feng Sheng'e himself knew that if he really fought this battle according to his own calculations, Jiangnan would be finished. Daqingguo could not afford to lose Jiangnan.

Therefore, the main forces of the Qing army, 70,000 to 80,000, gathered in Changzhou. Feng Sheng'e gritted his teeth and faced this decisive battle. Unless Chen Ming turned a blind eye to Changzhou and waited for the victory or defeat on the waterway, if the Qing army lost Jiangyin, then the Qing army soldiers gathered in Changzhou would naturally disperse to Suzhou, Taicang and even Songjiang to defend.

Chen Ming accepted the challenge. He would not miss such a great opportunity. Of the 50,000 Fu Han troops that went east, except for the 17th Brigade that arrived in Yangzhou in the north of the Yangtze River, Chen Ming did not leave any troops in Nanjing City, and all his forces were concentrated in Changzhou.

Dong Wei rode his horse and galloped along the Desheng River in the northwest of Changzhou. The breeze blew on his face. His sharp eyes, like eagle eyes, kept looking at the villages not far away, as well as the abandoned teahouses and restaurants on the left and right roads. Dong Wei was followed by twenty or thirty riders, and each of them, like Dong Wei, was always alert to the surrounding environment. Sabers were placed beside them, and some of the men had long weapons such as spears and lances on their saddles.

They were the reconnaissance team of the Fu Han Army Cavalry Regiment. They only wore breastplates, and their fiery red uniforms made them look like a ball of flame from a distance. The cavalry regiment had expanded to more than 2,000 people, and there were more than 1,000 reserve cavalry. There were many men on horseback in Henan, Anhui, and Hanzhong, but the Fu Han Army lacked horses, especially qualified war horses. The reserve soldiers without qualified war horses were left in Hubei by Chen Ming.

Dong Wei and his group of men on horseback took a boat from Hubei to Jiangnan, a journey of thousands of miles. After just two days of rest in Nanjing, they took another boat and rushed to Changzhou. When Dong Wei, a 5-foot-5-foot-tall man, got off the boat yesterday afternoon, his legs were weak.

Boats and water are really not the dishes of their cavalry. The endless flat land in front of them is their favorite.

The endless and smooth road allowed them to gallop. The men and horses who were running straight were sweating profusely. The body that had been "wronged" for several days seemed to move again. Dong Wei felt a refreshing feeling from the bottom of his heart!

Ever since the Dong family suffered a great disaster and the government killed the chickens and confiscated the family's property, and his title of Juren was also revoked, Dong Wei never touched the scriptures again. The famous Dong family in Shangqiu County was scattered. Who dared not to obey the government's donation?

After Dong Wei buried his father who died of illness in prison, he left Shangqiu and Guide with his mother, wife, children and underage brother. No one knew that this romantic and suave Dong Gongzi went to join Chen Han, and he was not a civil servant, but a warrior who rode horses to fight.

Dong Wei is a man of both civil and military talents, he can use the bow and horse, and he knows the classics. His life goal has never been Zhang Tingyu or Liu Tongxun, but General Nian Gengyao. A scholar commanding troops, winning battles, and becoming famous all over the world, what a satisfying life that is? For Dong Wei, who was born rich, had been clothed in fine clothes and fed with delicious food since birth, and had never had a hard life, this was more attractive than being a civil servant.

He joined the Fu Han Army. With his status as a juren, as long as he spent a few months in the cadre school, he would be a sixth- or seventh-rank assistant officer even if he did not become a county magistrate. But Dong Wei insisted on joining the army, which was still a cavalry battalion at the time. He did have a high degree of education, and his bow and horse were really good, but without military exploits, Dong Wei could only be a platoon leader at most.

He started as a sixth- or seventh-rank assistant officer in the government, but he was still a platoon leader after hanging around in the cavalry for more than half a year. The advantages and disadvantages of the two different lives are obvious. But Dong Wei never regretted his choice.

"Huh..."

The sound of reining in horses sounded by the Desheng River. One red and one white, the two teams confronted each other across the Anxi Stone Bridge.

This is a stone bridge one foot wide and 13 or 14 feet long. When Yin Hong of the Fu Han Army appeared on one side of the bridge, a cavalry of the Qing Army with a white banner also appeared on the other side of the bridge. They had 30 or 40 people, more than Dong Wei and others.

"Boss Dong, are you going to do it?"

Dong Wei's face was full of murderous intent. The prefect of Guide who ruined the Dong family and made his father die of illness in prison was a bannerman.

"Of course I will do it. Let me teach them a lesson first!" The hard bow that had been in his hand for a long time was suddenly raised, and a sharp arrow was shot out at a high speed.

"Bang, bang, bang..." Dong Wei pulled the bowstring three times in a row, and the sharp arrows in his fingers were shot out one after another. Three people in the Qing army cavalry on the opposite side fell down with screams. The time was just a moment. The rapid pulling of the bowstring was so fast that even his men beside him could not see clearly. Three shots and three hits, it seemed that two of them were already dead, and only one dodged half of his body, but the sharp arrow pierced his shoulder.

"Kill..." Dong Wei drew out his saber, clamped his legs against the horse's belly, and sped up the horse. "If you are a man, follow me and kill..." The Fu Han army cavalry behind him shouted in unison: "Tiger——"

When two meet on a narrow road, the brave wins! At this time, all strategies and tactics are useless. It depends on who is stronger, who is more courageous, and whose knife is faster and sharper!

The Qing army cavalry did not flee. The distance between the two sides was too close. If they fled, they would not even have the opportunity to circle the horses and turn around. The Fu Han army's knives fell directly on their necks.

The horses neighed. It was just a fight between dozens of cavalrymen, but because of the war horses, this collision seemed particularly tragic.

The black horse body had changed color at this moment, and was dyed into a dazzling purple by a bunch of blood, while the red military uniform on Dong Wei was red and black because of the blood. In a short period of sword fighting, the blood was soaked through the clothes.

"Hiss..." The war horses cried in sorrow.

The remaining Qing army white banner cavalry crossed directly from the Anxi stone bridge, and ran back and forth to the Han army camp without looking back. But in fact, the gap in the middle is too big, and a dozen cavalrymen can cross the Desheng River from another section of the river by making a small circle.

Dong Wei asked his men to take over the wounded soldiers of the Qing army. They also suffered casualties, but their results were stronger and greater, and they also seized more than ten intact war horses. Dong Wei felt that his way to becoming a team officer was clear!

…

The battle at the Anxi stone bridge was just one of the countless small collisions before the war began, but because of the special nature of the army, Dong Wei's name appeared in Chen Ming's eyes for the first time. Seeing that Dong Wei was a juren and came from a wealthy family, Chen Ming immediately marked this person with a small red dot.

Liu Wu, who stood aside, knew that as long as this person did not die on the battlefield and could make military achievements, his future would be guaranteed. Thinking of the fact that the man mentioned in the resume still had an old mother, a wife, and a minor brother in Baofeng, Liu Wu felt that he had to add a note in the next letter to his elder brother [Liu Wen].

The Cadre School has entered the countdown, and Liu Wen's destination has also been settled. He was arranged by Chen Ming to the Ministry of Culture and Education. This is the Ministry of Rites of the Chen Han regime. And the first batch of students for the Wenzheng University and the Military Academy that are about to be released, according to the King of Han's intention, will have to take care of the military martyrs and the children of Chen Han officials.