Dominate the Country

"Soldiers, warriors of the Qing Dynasty, ... Kill! Suppress the rebellion——"

The old general roared, and Wu Ge led the way in the torchlight, waving his waist knife, leading the Eight Banners cavalry behind him to let go of the horseshoes and rush forward, his dark red face full of perseverance and determination.

At this time, the generals need to lead the charge to inspire people and strengthen morale. He must rush to the forefront.

The 4,000 cavalrymen who followed Wu Ge were not elite, and their composition was very complicated. There were Green Camp cavalry from Zhili, Beijing's "loyalty to the country, and support the Qing Dynasty" children of the Beijing Banner, Mongolian cavalry transferred from the prairie, and horse armor soldiers transferred from the Northeast.

Compared with the Manchu and Mongolian cavalry a hundred years ago, these people were a group of complete mobs. The proficiency in archery and horsemanship was all nonsense. Except for the superb riding skills, few people could skillfully use lances and spears on horseback. It was just the galloping of about 4,000 cavalrymen. The majestic momentum and the excitement were still as unshakable as a mountain.

However, momentum is not enough. Their opponents were the Third Division and artillery positions that were ready for battle. They stared at the Manchu cavalry with firm eyes, and there was no trace of fear in them.

There was also darkness, the dark night.

Of course, large fireworks could illuminate the battlefield, and more than 4,000 cavalry were divided into four groups.

"Boom boom boom..." A bunch of shrapnel shells shot out. When the shells landed, the smoke from the explosion immediately engulfed the figures of dozens of cavalrymen who swept in.

The soldiers of the Third Division raised their muskets.

One row, two rows, three rows..., more and more Qing cavalry appeared in people's sight. Shells fell like raindrops.

The roaring explosions continued, and shrapnel shells and iron shells plundered lives wantonly. But more than 10,000 horse hooves trampled the ground, and the roaring sound was really exciting. Even the artillery shells seemed unable to stop the sweep of the iron cavalry, just like being in the rapids of the sea, and the next moment the whole person would be swept away by this "rapids".

The distance was getting closer and closer, gunshots rang out, and the Qing cavalry began to fall like dumplings.

Duan Yonggui was hit by a bullet in his right arm, and his arm bones were broken. The pain was unbearable, but he still lay under the horse's neck and led the team to charge. Because at this moment, it was impossible for him to get away. Wu Ge arranged a supervisory team behind him. At the same time, as the army was galloping, he could only slow down the speed at most, and it was impossible for him to rush out of the team directly, because he would be knocked over by the cavalry behind him.

Unlike the relatively weak fighting will of the Green Camp cavalry of Zhili [including Shandong], the Eight Banners cavalry, which was mainly composed of Manchus and Mongols, had a very strong fighting will. For them, the Fu Han Army was a mortal enemy who took away their rights and glory. The Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners had enjoyed more than a hundred years of prosperity and wealth in the glamorous world of the Central Plains. Now that their fundamental interests were impacted, they naturally hated the Fu Han Army. In addition, the Fu Han Army had always been very harsh in dealing with the Eight Banners captives, and the best of them all became coolies, which further aroused the hatred of the Manchu and Mongolian cavalry.

The Fu Han Army's hostility towards the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners was more often a kind of hostility between bandits and officials; while the Eight Banners' hostility towards the Fu Han Army was already an undoubted struggle between people and ethnic groups!

Therefore, the fighting spirit of the Manchu and Mongolian cavalry against the Fu Han Army should not be underestimated.

"Charge!" Wu Ge had already withdrawn from the front of the cavalry, but he was still shouting in the cavalry. The Qing army had already penetrated the first layer of the defensive position.

The Fu Han Army soldiers did not panic at all. After passing through the first layer, there was still the second layer, which was closer to the artillery position, but also within the coverage of the shotgun. The soldiers of the Third Division just had the cold light in their eyes become hot. "Bang, bang, bang--" The gunshots were as loud and dense as a rainstorm, sweeping from left and right. The various artillery positions also opened fire one after another, and shells fell continuously at the Qing army cavalry.

Some of the Eight Banners cavalrymen took out their muskets to fight back, but it was more courageous than effective.

"Charge! Kill them... Kill them!" Wu Ge shouted excitedly when he saw the distance getting closer and closer, and the cavalrymen behind him who were constantly losing people also raised their hearts and rushed forward more quickly. They passed through the first layer of defense!

Below is the second layer, and below the second layer is the artillery of the Fu Han Army...

Every cavalryman took it for granted that as long as they got close, the musket would become useless. They could swing their swords and kill all enemies at will.

However, the four Qing army cavalry that passed through the first layer of defense of the Fu Han Army, the burst of fighting spirit made everyone become moths to the fire, and they were trapped in a desperate situation between the second layer of defense positions of the Third Division. Unlike the first layer of defense positions that they penetrated, the second layer of defense positions were closer to the inside and had already touched the edge of the No. 1 artillery position. The shotgun, a powerful weapon, became the main force of the No. 1 artillery position to attack the Qing army cavalry.

That shotgun shell was hundreds of pellets. Compared with the shotgun shells with a wide coverage area, the shrapnel shells and iron shells were just little brothers. The lethality between the two is simply incomparable.

The shotgun shells of the No. 1 artillery position + the shells of the remaining artillery positions + bullets + grenades + a small part of mortars together formed an insurmountable wall of death. Countless bodies of men and horses fell here. But the Qing army still attacked the position like a raging sea.

Wu Ge's heart was really hard, and until his death, he did not issue a retreat order to the remaining Qing army cavalry.

Unfortunately, his attack only resulted in death.

The four thousand Qing army and cavalry are really moths flying into the flames, and they are just moths flying into the flames.

They did not see any hope of breaking through the Fuhan Army's front until the remaining soldiers surrendered and the entire army was wiped out. At most, sporadic Qing cavalry rushed into the guard formation of the artillery position, causing a ripple.

The ripples swirled and disappeared, unable to even give hope to the Manchu cavalry behind them. I don’t know how long they persisted in the formation. Groups of cavalry abandoned their pride and surrendered!

Duan Yonggui is not dead yet, but he feels as if he is flying into the sky, erratic. He stared straight at the dark sky, looking at the stars in the sky, until the soldiers of the Fuhan Army who were searching the battlefield saw him who was seriously injured and stabbed him. The blade sank into Duan Yonggui's chest. There was a hint of unwillingness in his eyes - big Qing, is it really about to end?

Failed battle after battle, again and again...

…

"Drive, drive, drive..."

A new day has arrived, and the bright red sun rises from the eastern horizon. The morning sun fell on the river, like little bits of gold. The surface of the river is undulating, and "broken gold" is flashing in the microwave.

A fast horse took advantage of the clear light of the morning and galloped to the naval camp outside Jiangyin City.

"Quick, I want to see Huang Junmen, I want to see Huang Junmen."

The Qing soldiers guarding the gate stopped the men and horses, and the rider fell off his horse. The doorman Dusi didn't recognize the man's face, but he recognized the sign he took out of his arms, and he was shocked. He even asked someone to bring water and give the rider a few sips, then someone set up the rider's tent and sent it directly to Huang Zhenggang's tent.

Huang Zhenggang had already gotten up at this time. When he saw the person coming, he was as startled as the gatekeeper, because he recognized this person. This person was the palace guard who served in front of Fengsheng'e and served in the army.

"Changzhou was besieged. The positions outside the city changed hands overnight, and the army was completely wrapped up."

Feng Sheng'e let this highly skilled guard sneak out to report the news in the crisis because Jiangyin had the last remaining combat power of the Qing army in the south of the Yangtze River - a large number of naval warships and five or six thousand men. The troops in the Lu camp were brave.

Changzhou was already surrounded by the Fuhan Army. Chen Ming only needed to divide his troops to attack Jiangyin City from land. Huang Zhenggang would be faced with a dilemma.

On the water, they were facing repeated challenges from the Fuhan Army's navy. On land, the Fuhan Army's troops would attack again. With the Fuhan Army's powerful artillery fire, how could the Qing army defend Jiangyin City? If Huang Zhenggang didn't plan early and was attacked by land and water by the Fuhan Army, he would suffer a big loss.

Moreover, this news urgently needs to be delivered to Beijing quickly.

Huang Zhenggang's expression changed drastically. He had seen the layout of the positions outside Changzhou City with his own eyes. Such a huge trench area, and there were still plenty of troops in the city, were completely destroyed overnight. How could this be possible?

Huang Zhenggang asked the visitor to be sent to the military tent to rest, and he walked around in the big tent. He was no longer thinking about Changzhou. Once Fengsheng's army was surrounded like this, the previous plans of the Jiangnan Qing army were completely in vain.

Jiang** Road and Changzhou Land Road were two gates that firmly blocked the Fuhan Army in the area west of Taihu Lake. But the decisive battle on the water has not yet begun, and things on land have changed drastically overnight.

Huang Zhenggang suppressed his worries about the Qing army in Changzhou. The problem he faced was that it was meaningless for his navy and army to defend Jiangyin.

"Blow the drum and gather the generals."

His forehead throbbed with pain as he thought about it, Huang Zhenggang made up his mind and shouted loudly to the soldiers outside.

"Jiangyin must withdraw!"

…

Just as Jiangyin's land and water Qing troops were busy retreating, in Wuxi, which was only seventy or eighty miles away from Changzhou, Chen Ziqing and Qin Youzi also received the news that "something is not going well in Changzhou."

Chen Zicheng now had the title of Wuxi County Magistrate, and Qin Youzi was the commander-in-chief of Wuxi Yingqian.

The official fame of the two people cannot be compared with Wu Xiongguang, who wears the fourth-grade Zhengdai, but at least the two people's struggle has paid off, especially Qin Youzi. Before, he was just a pitiful little transparent person in the Qin family, but now he has become a role in the Qin family, a giant family in the south of the Yangtze River.

When they heard the news from Changzhou, the two looked at each other with disbelief, just like Huang Zhenggang's first reaction! There are 70,000 to 80,000 people in Changzhou.

"Brother Xinwei [Chen Ziqing], this matter is important, little brother, I..." Qin Youzi wants to go back to Xiaolou Lane, and this matter must be reported to Qin's parents.

The panic on Chen Zizheng's face calmed down a bit, and he slowly regained his composure after the initial confusion. "Brother, I hope you can go and come back quickly. Brother, I'm waiting for you." The Qin family is a prominent family in Wuxi. Chen Zicheng is also looking forward to Qin's decision at this time for reference.

The 780,000-strong Qing army in Changzhou was surrounded by the Fuhan army overnight. The red flags of the Fuhan army were flying on all positions outside the city. Is Jiangnan about to change its color again?