Dominate the Country

The battle of Fuzhou entered the main topic. Chen Ming did not let the navy troops directly approach Langqi Island to fight a decisive battle with the Qing navy. The news leaked by the secret camp made him have great expectations for the Qing navy in Langqi Island. He set his first target on Changle.

Changle, a county with a very festive name, is said to be named after the meaning of "Chang'an Jiule" in the Book of Songs. It is located on the south bank of the Minjiang River estuary, in the middle of the coastline of the Yangtze River estuary and the Pearl River estuary, and across the sea from Taiwan Island. If the Fu Han Army lands here and advances west along the Minjiang River, it will be equivalent to completely cutting off the retreat of the Qing army in Fuzhou.

Moreover, the secret camp has buried a chess piece in Changle, and now it is time for this chess piece to play a role.

Since the news that the Fu Han Army surrounded the main force of the Qing Army in Changzhou, the coastal areas of Fujian have been building a batch of artillery and beacon towers in a hurry. No matter how good the quality and performance of the cannons on the artillery towers are, no matter how limited their defense is, the artillery and beacon towers are always a trouble for the Fu Han Army's land forces to land.

Meihuaso, located in the northeast corner of Changle County, is the core fortress of Changle's coastal defense. Meihuaso is different from other coastal villages and towns. It is a famous ancient town and port in history. It is a military fortress in Fujian. It has always been the throat of the provincial capital Fuzhou and the key point of coastal defense at the mouth of the Minjiang River.

Meihua Ancient City was built in the 20th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1387 AD) to resist the Japanese pirates. The ancient city wall is still basically intact.

The Qing army stationed thousands of soldiers here. This place was originally just a patrol office, but now thousands of soldiers have come. The leading officers were all bannermen, and together with the beacon towers and artillery batteries along the line, they formed a barrier for Changle's eastern coastal defense.

However, in this era, the long coastline is too difficult to defend, especially the Fu Han Army has no intention of destroying the traces. Anyway, if the operation goes smoothly, not only Meihua City, but also Changle County will be included in it. All of them belong to the Fu Han Army, so there is no need to cover them up. The reconnaissance troops of the Fu Han Army took a flat-bottomed sampan boat to the coast in batches in the middle of the night, and connected with the secret agents of the dark camp who had been waiting on the shore. After the troops assembled, they left immediately, without covering up the footprints and boats left on the beach, and the Qing army in Meihua had not noticed it at this moment.

The night was dark, and you couldn't see your fingers. The dark sky was dotted with stars, but there was no shadow of the moon.

On the official road leading to Meihua, you can see a bright post from a distance. There were several bonfires and torches on the sentry post, and the firelight illuminated a group of red-faced militiamen. In the middle, a middle-aged man dressed in tight clothes looked at the location of Plum Blossom City not far away, and his high emotions were full of murderous intent.

"Brother!"

"Uncle."

The Fujianese, especially those in coastal areas, valued clans the most. Those who can organize militia here are either really rich or absolutely big families. This middle-aged man is obviously the latter.

This man's prestige is still quite high. With a wave of his hand, all the voices were quiet.

"Everyone listen, the Wu family has other brothers with other surnames. Whether they will eat bran and drink thin water or eat delicious food and drink spicy food in the future depends on this deal tonight." The middle-aged man's eyes flashed with ferocity. The Qing Dynasty ship was going to sink. Who the hell wanted to accompany them to drown together, not to mention that the one who mediated was his benefactor. The middle-aged man's "rebellion" was very resolute. "The people present are either the children of my Wu family or the most trusted brothers of Wu Yong. Everyone, please entrust your lives and property to me, Wu Yong. I will lead everyone to open a road to wealth and honor today!" After taking away the credit of Plum Blossom City, he will definitely get a position.

The people around him did not speak, but everyone's eyes were fiery and hot. Just like what Wu Yong said, the people present were the ones he trusted, the ones who entrusted their lives and property to him. Those who were not trusted were either not at the checkpoint or had become corpses.

In this checkpoint, not only was the atmosphere fierce, but there was also a faint smell of blood. In the dark place of this checkpoint that was not illuminated by the fire, there were still several corpses bleeding.

"Everyone, listen up. We have people in Meihua City. It's easy for us to enter the city. The morale of the Qing soldiers is low. We just need to rush in and shout loudly, 'The Fu Han Army is coming', and then kill the leading Tartars, and we can seize all the city gates. Then we can take advantage of the chaos to coerce Ding Yong and take down the entire Meihua City." Thousands of Qing soldiers were stationed in Meihua, and two or three hundred people were assigned to guard four routes. There were still seven or eight hundred in the city. Wu Yong only had a hundred or so people, but he managed to capture the city where seven or eight hundred Qing soldiers were stationed. Should we say that he was daring, or that the Qing army was really too bad?

Compared to taking only one city gate, of course, the entire Meihua City had a greater contribution. "Even if we can't capture the entire city, as long as we defend that city gate, two or three quarters of a second, when the Fu Han Army arrives, this great achievement will be established." Wu Yong only regretted that he was not assigned to the county town, otherwise this contribution would be even greater, and such a great achievement could only be taken by others.

To be on the safe side, the scouts who landed in a small boat at night were divided into two groups. One group landed at Xiaojiangkou, ten miles south of Meihuaso; the other landed at Langtou Mountain, only five or six miles away from Meihuaso, but that was already in the Minjiang River. He would not take the initiative to contact Wu Yong, but only to see if there was any change in Meihua City.

Wu Yong glanced at the people around him, "Everyone, the world is in chaos again. There are still a few years of fighting between Han and Hu. Who dares to say that there is no one among you and me who will be made a marquis or a general? If you want to be rich and have a promising future, you must be brave enough to fight and fight. Tonight, follow me to kill the Tartars!" Wu Yong himself is old and is not going to join the Fu Han Army, but the younger generation of the Wu family must join the Jin Army! In troubled times, military talents are the easiest to stand out.

There is no need to say too much, the heat in everyone's eyes cannot be faked. The Fu Han Army has already established its momentum, and the battle to the south is unstoppable. The court in the north seems to have forgotten the south. It has been half a year, and no troops have been gathered to cross the Yangtze River. This kind of "heartlessness" has made many loyal ministers of the Qing Dynasty "heartbroken", and it has also made too many people eager to jump off this sinking broken ship.

Wu Yong's face was full of murderous aura.

——This is what people are like. They are afraid of death and greedy for wealth. The Fu Han Army, which is approaching the border, is the protagonist of the Battle of Fuzhou. The big green fruit is about to be finished [Southern Country]. Wu Yong’s own benefactor, the magistrate of Changle County, Mr. Chen, a dignified Jinshi, is going to rebel!

What I and others want is wealth, and what Mr. Chen wants is also wealth. There are countless Jinshi in the Qing Dynasty, but there are not many Jinshi in the Chen Han court, not to mention those from Fujian. With this business tonight, Mr. Chen can turn around and become a prefect! It’s good to enjoy the shade under the big tree, and the Wu family can also take the opportunity to change the door lintel.

The magistrate of Changle County is the real chess piece of the secret camp. At present, the secret camp activities in the Qing-controlled area of ​​Fujian are more rampant, and even if the Qing officials who received their letters do not agree, few of them will "kill the traitors with ruthless hands", just like the Qing Dynasty refused to kill Wang Jingwei, and they were all prepared to leave a way out for themselves.

So there are spies and insiders everywhere.

It's just that a large number of Qing troops entered Changle, and Li, who was only a small county magistrate, had to stand aside long ago. The military and political affairs have been taken over by the Qing army, otherwise the Fu Han army would not have to waste guns and cannons to attack Changle.

The Meihua City in front is only more than two miles away from the checkpoint, and most people are sleeping in the middle of the night. There are very few people on duty, and there are even insiders. Wu Yong is confident in the sneak attack on the city gate!

"Be careful, don't make any big noise!" Wu Yong said to the hundreds of people behind him while sneaking.

The pitch-black night gave them excellent cover. Even if the people on duty at the city gate opened their eyes wide, it was difficult to find someone approaching them slowly. After all, there are checkpoints on all sides of Meihua City, and who would have thought that the "rebel" person himself is the leader of the guarding checkpoint? Besides, the night watchmen are mainly concerned about the sea, and no one expected that danger would come from behind.

Quietly touching the side of Meihua City, the people waiting there had already moved the fence and quietly opened the city gate.

"Go straight in, kill Bariha, and guard this city gate first." Then talk about taking advantage of the chaos to seize the whole city. Wu Yong's braids on the back of his head have been cut off. "People you meet along the way will shout that the Fu Han Army is coming, surrender and spare your life, and see which bastard dares to reach out."

After Wu Yong said this, he suddenly pulled out the knife from his waist, yelled "Follow me to kill", and rushed in first.

The commander of Meihua City was a bannerman, and several of his capable officers were also bannermen. Unfortunately, he couldn't turn all his soldiers into bannermen. Among the thousands of soldiers, more than half were local warriors. Once such a team was infiltrated, it would become a sieve. It was completely like letting thieves guard the door to prevent robbers.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"The Fu Han army is here, surrender and no one will be killed."

These hundred or so people rushed into the military station behind the city gate, and in just a moment, the city gate where more than a hundred Ding Yong were stationed was in chaos.

"No, it's an enemy attack!" someone shouted.

"Enemy attack!" Shouts rang out in the military station.

"Someone is attacking!" More Ding Yongs were awakened and found that something was wrong. However, before these Ding Yongs could hold their weapons, people rushed in at the door, with swords and guns on their necks, and they could only surrender.

Of the more than a hundred soldiers at the city gate, only a few ran and shouted in panic, and the rest were all captured.

If one-third of these people, no, even one-tenth were loyal to the Qing Dynasty, it would cause Wu Yong a lot of trouble. But it is obvious that among these more than a hundred people, not even one-tenth were willing to work for Daqingguo.

The whole Meihua City was in chaos. The loud shouts of "Fu Han Army is coming" from the city gates scared countless officers and soldiers. After Bariha, who was sleeping soundly in the single room, was awakened, Wu Yong had already rushed to him with his men before he could figure out what was going on.

Bariha was a Mongolian, but Mongolians were not necessarily brave. He had lived in Fuzhou since he was a child. Now, Bariha, who was only 30 years old, had a big stomach and it was difficult for him to get on and off the horse alone. When he saw the blade coming, he screamed and rolled to avoid it. He didn't even have the ability to fight Wu Yong, who had practiced martial arts for many years.

Wu Yong just turned the blade and changed from chopping to cutting. Blood flashed, and a human skull rolled to the ground. Bariha's headless corpse also fell to the ground...

The situation developed more smoothly than Chen Ming expected. Meihua City and Changle County fell into the hands of the Fu Han Army overnight. This is the benefit of having an insider. Look at how much the Dark Camp played in the Restoration of Han Army's journey, especially after they had already established their dominance.

The next day, just after dawn, the Fu Han army, which had not rested all night, continued to work hard and rushed towards the mouth of Dazhangxi River.

Dazhangxi River is the largest tributary of the lower reaches of the Minjiang River, originating from Daiyun Mountain in Dehua, Yongchun Prefecture.

If the Qing army in Fuzhou wants to retreat by land, unless they are willing to abandon their homes and businesses, throw away all their money, food, supplies and ammunition, and escape alone, they can only take the Dazhangxi waterway to Yongfu. The Fu Han army sealed this place, which to a certain extent cut off Fuzhou's retreat.

The Qing army in the south has been completely trapped in a desperate situation, and the Qing army soldiers in Fujian are in a desperate situation where they are ten times dead and have no chance of survival. In such a situation, Chen Ming does not believe that they still have the courage to fight back. Once the retreat is cut off, these people will think more about surrender.

Chen Jie of Putian has already led the main force to Fuqing. Fuqing is not far from Changle, but does he really dare to lead his troops to Fuzhou?

Chen Jie is a very good talent. He has fought many battles with the Tiandihui in Fujian in the past one or two years, winning more than losing, but his position is too bad.

The strength in his hands is too bad.

Even if all the troops in Xinghua Prefecture are transferred to Fuqing, Chen Jie's available troops are only 7,000 to 8,000. What can such a small number of people do?

The general trend is here with the Fu Han Army. The Qing army in Fuzhou is really a fish swimming under the pot and a turtle in the jar.

Chen Han has not been able to look north yet. The southwest and the entire north are still in the hands of the Qing Dynasty. Although Hanzhong cuts off the connection between Sichuan and Shaanxi, Sichuan can still connect with Beijing through Qinghai.

The Tibetans in the Big and Small Jinchuan are indeed very strong compared to the chieftains alone. But Altai [Governor of Sichuan] gathered the chieftains of various routes in Sichuan and combined their troops to control the Big and Small Jinchuan. It was not to send troops to attack the strategically located Jinchuan, but to guard against the local soldiers of Jinchuan. The effect would be immediate. Jinchuan would not be able to expand its territory immediately.

However, as the news of the strength of the Fu Han Army continued to spread to Shuzhong, the Han area of ​​Sichuan had already shown signs of rebellion. Altai sent a fast horse from Qinghai to report to Beijing that the existing troops in Sichuan could no longer be moved, and it was already the limit to use a part of them in Hanzhong. If he sent troops from Guizhou to attack Hunan, he was afraid that if there was a rebellion in Sichuan, he would not even have soldiers to suppress the rebellion.

As a result, although the war situation in Hunan fluctuated, no Qing army had ever captured the prefectural city. In this way, the situation in Hunan could still be called "medium and peaceful". This made the Fu Han Army even stronger. In the most difficult Hunan, the Qing army was unable to gain any major advantage despite such an advantage, and the situation in the south could never be reversed again.

Finally, it was Beijing's "turning a blind eye" in the past few months. After Zhejiang was lost, the disaster was imminent, which directly overwhelmed the morale of the Qing army in Fujian. The Qing army in Fujian had 30,000 to 50,000 soldiers and braves, but their morale was already at its lowest. When they saw the flag of the Fu Han Army, many soldiers behaved like the corrupt Green Camp who saw the battle flag of the Taiping Army in the original time and space: those who fled only when they saw the enemy were the best braves, those who fled at the sight of the enemy were the middle braves, and those who fled after hearing the wrong news were the worst braves.

The Fu Han Army went south to Fujian and was unstoppable.

"Sure enough, this battle is getting easier and easier." The greater your advantage, the lower the enemy's morale. The easier this war is.

Chen Ming felt that after he dealt with the Qing army in Fujian, he would go to Taiwan and attack Guangdong by sea, and it should be equally unstoppable. The Second Garrison Division has been in Nanjing for such a long time. Seeing that the First Division of Jiangsu Army led by Duan Xiulin is about to be formed, Chen Ming thinks it is time to send the Second Garrison Division to Jiangxi to cooperate with Miao Fuwei to conquer Jiangxi.

Chen Ming also received a letter in his sleeve. This was just passed by Lu Shan. His father has taken two more young women into his room. If his mother is not counted, there are six. Once a man is rich, it is really difficult to control himself when it comes to women. One of the six concubines is already pregnant. Chen Hui is not too old, and it seems that children can continue to be born, which can not only give Chen Ming a little brother or sister...