Dominate the Country

The war began, truly began. It was in Xianghe County, centered on Duji.

The vanguard of the Fu Han Army arrived at Wubaihu Town, southeast of Duji, at noon the next day. The Imperial Guard Brigade and the First Brigade of the First Division of the Jiangsu Army did not rush to set up camp after arriving at the place, but immediately showed a posture of hitting the Shibaihu Village not far away, which was the forward position of the Qing army.

There was no civilian in Shibaihu Village, and there were a total of 4,000 Qing troops stationed there. The commander was Delang, the deputy governor of the Manchu Zhenghong Banner.

As a man who spent most of his life in chaos in Beijing, Delang was naturally not an outstanding general. In the early years, the Qing army attacked Junggar and pacified the battles of the big and small Hezhuo. Although he appeared on the battlefield, he never had any performance that made people shine. He is an image of most of the middle and high-level officers of the Qing Dynasty at this moment. With enough status, the position will come. In fact, he is far from having the ability to match his status and position.

Shells fell on Shibaihu Village, but Delang did not think that he would fail. Although he was very clear about the combat effectiveness of the Fu Han Army, he was full of confidence. Because behind him stood the entire Qing Army, and the Fu Han Army only reached a vanguard.

Also because he had a large number of cavalry. In Babaihu Village, not far east of Shibaihu Village, a cavalry team of 3,000 people was quietly observing the performance of the Fu Han Army.

The vanguard of the Fu Han Army had more than 10,000 people. Looking at their flags, in addition to a miscellaneous Jiangsu Army First Division, another brigade was the personal guard of Chen Ni, the leader of the rebels. This was definitely the first-class elite troops of the Fu Han Army.

But in addition to Shibaihu Village, this unit had to face the troops coming out of Jiajiazhuang in front. The latter was a pure Eight Banners New Army, and the number of people would be as many as a whole town.

Behind Jiajiazhuang was Duji, and the two places were completely connected to become the main camp of the Qing Army in this battle.

Three thousand cavalrymen sat on the ground, quietly waiting for the order to attack. Their cotton armors looked mighty in the sunlight. The vanguard of the Fu Han Army did not even have a decent cavalry.

Qingchun, the commander of the Mongolian Zhengbai Banner, climbed onto the roof of the house and looked at the battlefield not far away. The war was about to begin.

In this battle, the Qing army would once again use the method of frontal attack. The Qing army in Shibaihu Village would probably be defeated miserably, but how could you catch a wolf without sacrificing a child?

With the sound of a sharp whistle, the musketeers of the First Division of the Jiangsu Army marched forward together.

The battle began!

The weak Qing army also followed the "knight-like" army to the center of the battlefield. Although they had an overall advantage in strength, they were in a weak defensive position in the Shibaihu Village.

"Boom boom boom--" The Qing army's artillery fired first.

The shells did not hit the Fu Han Army because the infantry of both sides were lined up outside the firing range of the other side's artillery. But the Qing army's artillery unexpectedly fired shrapnel. These low-quality shrapnel had little explosive power, but each shell could produce a thick black smoke, which slowly obscured the Qing army.

Jiang Wei instantly understood the Qing army's intention. They were not firing now to kill, but to provide cover, using the smoke from the explosion to cover themselves.

"Fire--"

After waiting for twenty minutes, the 56 cannons in the Fu Han army's artillery position also roared!

The Fu Han army's infantry continued to march forward, and the Qing army's artillery points were approaching one after another. The line of soldiers of the 1st Division and 1st Brigade of the Jiangsu Army gradually disappeared in the black smoke. From time to time, the screams of soldiers came out from the thick smoke in the distance.

But if you listen carefully to the sound of footsteps landing, the vibration is still there, and there is no confusion at all.

The distance between the two sides gradually shortened, and the Qing army began to move.

"The Tartar recruits are well trained!" Jiang Wei's eyes were shining. He didn't expect that there were so many Eight Banners New Army in the Qing army of Shibaihu Village. The mortar troops in the army fired one shrapnel after another. It was not uncommon for the latter to advance under the shells, but they could still keep the front line roughly neat while advancing. This was not something that ordinary troops could maintain.

Even their Jiangsu Army's 1st Division and 1st Brigade were roughly at this level.

Jiang Wei didn't know that Shibaihu Village was the forward position of the Qing army. In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the Qing army there, Agui transferred a full four battalions of Eight Banners New Army, and the remaining two thousand people were also four battalions of training troops. In terms of gold content, it is definitely the best among the garrisons in these villages in front of Duji.

Under the leadership of two battalions of Eight Banners New Army, the other two battalions of training troops could roughly keep the front line neat under the baptism of shrapnel.

Until, with a loud bang that shook the earth, a blazing red cloud exploded on the battlefield, and the black smoke and fire cloud quickly rose into the sky. The battlefield where artillery fire just now was suddenly a piece of cake.

The moment the heavy rocket exploded, time and space seemed to be torn apart. The strong airflow violently swept the surrounding ten feet radius, as if a big hand was "twisting" the space near the explosion point, and the deep-rooted trees were twisted and crushed neatly. Houses were like castles built of sand, and were completely flattened and destroyed. Firewood, doors, beams, and furniture in the house were like the ball that was kicked by someone, flying far away... The nearby Qing troops all fled in all directions.

Even the Eight Banners New Army, which had the strongest will to fight, saw countless compatriots being shattered in the flames, the flying limbs and arms, and the overwhelming debris, which were also extremely lethal under the super explosive force. They could not help but feel panic, confusion, and madness from the bottom of their hearts, which made their scalps numb and shrieked, and fear grew from their spines.

And the weak-willed training army, after rockets of varying weights fell one after another, the soldiers who were still resolute half an hour ago became crazy people who only cared about escaping and lost their reason.

Lives were destroyed in the flames, and many wounded soldiers screamed and disappeared in this cruel world under the ruthless trampling of their own kind...

The battlefield after being baptized by rockets was like purgatory.

Delang bit his lips hard, and the rockets that exploded on the battlefield illuminated the smoke. He was hundreds of feet away from the battlefield. The hot waves were coming towards him, and Delang and his men could still feel its fierce "passion". With continuous loud noises, billowing smoke and endless soil and sand rose into the air like an overwhelming sandstorm, and then swept in all directions.

In the black smoke, scarlet flaming flowers bloomed. But that beautiful and enchanting "charm" would only be a symbol of death, and it would not attract the love of the Qing army at all. The soldiers who fled in panic, the blood splashed in red, and death was splashed on the ground, which was the most true portrayal of it.

When the loud noises subsided, "Pop--" the muskets mixed with the rumbling of cannons finally rang out.

At this moment, there was no difference between the Eight Banners New Army and the Allied Forces. Everyone was fleeing in panic, and the rockets of the Fu Han Army extended to the entire Shibaihu Village.

Qingchun frowned as he looked at the battlefield. The sound of explosions continued. The smoke had obscured the sun in the sky. The Shibaihu Village seemed to have been lost, but he still did not see the signal rise.

In Lixinjia Village, which was behind the Shibaihu Village, more and more defeated and wounded soldiers were withdrawn from the front line of the Shibaihu Village. Agui saw two training soldiers supporting a wounded soldier of the Eight Banners New Army with blood on his head and no helmet on from both sides. The wounded soldier was still spitting blood from his mouth. The other wounded soldier of the training army, who had no gun or sword, walked alone, groaning and spitting along the way. The wound made him unbearable. The left hand covered the wound on his abdomen, and blood kept flowing out and flowing onto his military pants.

The casualties on the front line were heavy. The Fu Han Army did not leave their trump cards unused. Whether it was the Eight Banners New Army or the training army, they were generally vulnerable in front of rockets, a weapon that was completely beyond the times.

"As planned, put in the reserve." Agui roared. He thought that Delang's troops could hold out for a little longer in the Shibaihu Village, but he didn't expect that it would take longer than expected.

When the situation cannot be opened, more troops must be deployed. Of course, he will not let the precious Eight Banners New Army attack the neatly arrayed personal guard brigade of the Fu Han Army, but let the Green Camp, Banner Soldiers, and some training soldiers holding swords and guns be thrown into the Shibaihu Village.

The artillery fire of the Fu Han Army was too powerful. If one point collapsed, it would not be possible to turn the situation around by attacking other points, let alone throwing out all the trump cards in the hand at once. That would be the most stupid thing a commander would do.

Jiang Wei had a solemn face. When he rushed to the Shibaihu Village in pursuit of the rockets' "cultivation", the Qing army had already been defeated. Whether it was the Eight Banners New Army or the training army, there was no sign of a large-scale existence. But soon he discovered that the sluggish pace of the Jiangsu Army's 1st Division's advance was causing them to encounter more and more resistance.

More and more cold-weapon Qing troops appeared in the ruined Shibaihu Village. They had banner soldiers, green camps, trained braves, and some trained troops.

Now the firepower that the Fu Han Army could rely on was more the power of mortars. The lethality was far from comparable to rockets.

"Notify the artillery team to cover the area between Shibaihu Village and Li Xinjiazhuang. Tell the third regiment to retreat to the original position and not to move without orders. Tell the rocket unit to fire the fire dragon bomb to the northwest of Shibaihu Village..." Jiang Wei's intuition told him that he must immediately curb the route of the Qing army's reinforcements. Unfortunately, the hot air balloon team was not assigned to the vanguard at all.

The Qing army's reinforcements arrived, and the offensive of the First Division of the Jiangsu Army became stronger, although the Third Regiment withdrew from Shibaihu Village. But the fight between the First Regiment and the Second Regiment became more fierce. Although the Royal Guard Brigade faced the pressure of a town of Eight Banners New Army appearing on the slope, it did not hesitate to separate a regiment of troops to move to the right side of Shibaihu Village, that is, the east side of the Shibaihu Village battlefield.

A gust of wind blew across the battlefield, but it could only blow away a corner of the thick smoke above the battlefield. The smoke screen seemed to be pressed tightly by an invisible big hand. The constant gunshots and elongated shouts in the ruins of Shibaihu Village kept the emotions of both sides excited. Even if batches of wounded were constantly walking or being carried out, they were evacuated from inside.

On the artillery positions of the Fu Han Army, the artillerymen were busier than ever. The commander always had a gloomy face, took quick steps, walked from one cannon to another, and walked back and forth between the positions without stopping. He shouted and encouraged loudly, commanding the soldiers to fire more vigorously.

Passing the shells, pushing back the gun, loading the shells, every artilleryman must do his part in the shortest possible time, and do it cleanly and neatly. Every artilleryman's legs are jumping on the ground as if they are equipped with springs.

The sound of "boom..." is loud. One by one, the shells passed over the fiercely fighting battlefield of Shibaihu Village and fell to the west and north of the village. One after another, the shrapnel bombs blew up piles of loose soil and puffs of black smoke.

Everyone's eyes were burning with blazing flames. They knew the power of the guns in their hands and the importance of cannons! But with the birth of the Fire Dragon Bomb, no one needs to say that the Fu Han Army's artillery unit has felt its status decline. Think about how awesome they were back then. The entire Fu Han Army fought around artillery firepower, but what about now? The rocket unit that suddenly appeared has taken away too much of their glory.

Now they have to move quickly, send shells to the middle of Shibaihu Village and Lixinjiazhuang, and do their best to cut off the reinforcement channel of the Qing army.

The offensive of the First Division of the Jiangsu Army really slowed down, even if they fought harder and harder, even if Jiang Wei concentrated all the mortars behind him to fiercely bombard the Qing army on the opposite side, and then ordered the soldiers to charge forward again and again regardless of casualties! But the speed of advancement still slowed down. Jiang Wei had no idea how many Qing troops had rushed from Lixinjiazhuang four miles away to Shibaihu Village in this short period of time.

But they are still moving forward!

No matter how slowly, they are still moving forward.

Gui Han, who led the reinforcements, still clearly remembered Agui's instructions that they could not mess with the other side. The bravery of the Fu Han Army was not something the Qing army could resist, and the discipline of the Fu Han Army was not comparable to that of the Qing army. After the chaos, they can gather again in a short time. Can the Qing army gather again after the chaos?

Don't forget that they are only dealing with a part of the vanguard of the Fu Han Army. There is also a guard brigade outside the Shibaihu Village. Bullets flew past my ears, and the whizzing sound went straight into my heart.

"Charge, follow me--" Beta roared, waving the big knife in his hand.

Behind him, a group of blue-flag soldiers wearing lightning rods, holding swords and bayonets, rushed straight to the Jiangsu Army First Division with a "bang" and mixed together. Soldiers on both sides must rush forward. It was like two tides moving towards each other, and the collision in an instant splashed endless blood.

"Ah uh--" Jiang Wei groaned, and his right arm, which was holding the big knife high, fell down weakly. Just now, he felt a sudden pain in his right arm and could no longer hold on to any strength. The eyes were bloody, and a bullet had opened a hole in his arm, piercing the arm guard, and blood kept flowing out.

"Why stop? Charge, keep charging forward--"

The soldiers around him couldn't help but pause after seeing this, and the guards more nervously protected Jiang Wei in the center. Jiang Wei grabbed the fallen sword with his left hand, glared at the soldiers who stopped, and roared harshly.

Cruel hand-to-hand combat.

The bright sword light was so dazzling in the sun, and the sharp bayonet also flashed a chilling white light.

He chopped off the enemy's head with one sword, but before he could raise the sword again, his chest was stabbed by the enemy's bayonet;

He stabbed into the enemy's chest with a thrust, and before the bayonet was pulled out again, he had been beheaded by the enemy from the side;

When a regiment of the Royal Guard Brigade went around the back of the Ten Hundred Households Village, Qingchun of the Eight Hundred Households Village called on his cavalry to prepare for battle.