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"Steamships are so labor-saving!" Lei Hu couldn't help praising the troops who were disembarking in an orderly manner near Jiujiang.
They didn't encounter any enemies along the way. Other than the machines, the ones who were really working hard were the drivers. Tens of thousands of troops easily reached Jiujiang from Wuchang with only a few hundred people. Lei Hu, who had participated in the downstream battle nine years ago, was filled with emotion.
In attacking Hunan and Hubei, the Liberation Army used speed to the extreme. Only with the permission of the Liberation Army, did the Qing Army along the way have the opportunity to consider whether to go out of the city to die or be annihilated in the city. Relying on water transport, tens of thousands of troops easily conquered the cities along the river. The troops who had marched arduously by land were stationed in these cities.
The friendly troops controlled the cities behind them, and the navy controlled the Yangtze River. Lei Hu no longer had any worries. He only needed to command the troops to attack fiercely. Of course, Lei Hu knew that his opponent, Ceng Guofan, had used the same method to attack the Taiping Rebellion. This kind of step-by-step strategy was very common since ancient times. It was just that Lei Hu had far more transportation than his predecessors, so he could use this method to the fullest.
Lu Haiyang, the chief of staff of the Yangtze River detachment, who was next to Lei Hu, sighed and said, "The tonnage of this ship is too small. If it were a hundred-ton warship, it would be equipped with six-inch guns. If it stopped in the middle of the river, it would be able to bombard Jiujiang City. "
Hearing this regretful remark, Lei Hu comforted Lu Haiyang. "When we liberate the Yangtze River basin, we can directly transfer ships from Guangdong."
"What's the use of transferring ships then? The war will be over," Lu Haiyang said regretfully.
Lei Hu laughed and said, "It's still too early for the war to end! We still have to fight north of the Huai River. Even if we wipe out the Manchu Qing, we will have to fight the French and the British sooner or later. Earth is so big. How can it be so easy to finish the war? "
Lu Haiyang was amused by Lei Hu's warmongering remarks. He laughed and said, "You can go and fight the Earth. I'll stay in China."
The high-ranking commanders could make some high-level jokes, but the commanders in charge of the siege had a completely different attitude. "The battle against Bao Qing turned into a street fight. This time, we have to attack Jiujiang City quickly! Once we break through the city walls, we'll immediately advance deeper into the city. If we encounter an enemy, we'll have to shoot. If the enemy wants to engage us in hand-to-hand combat, then the troops will immediately engage in a bayonet battle. "
During the military summary meeting, each unit had to exchange their experiences and learn more from the battles of other brother units. Jiujiang was an important city, and taking over Jiujiang would not be an easy battle. Before the battle, all the troops emphasized the key points of their tactics.
At this moment, the sound of cannons rumbled and cannonballs swept across the city. The scouts on the observation balloons signaled, and the siege troops immediately began to attack.
Lei Hu and Lu Haiyang's attention was on the siege troops. Lei Hu stopped talking about conquering the world. He could not help but say, "We don't have enough cannonballs. After taking Jiujiang, we can only attack Anqing like this again. After that, we'll have to wait for the cannonballs from the rear."
Transporting the cannonballs from Guangdong to Jiujiang completely relied on the waterway. Even though the waterway was fast and could carry more goods, it was still a heavy burden to transport tens of thousands of cannonballs to the frontline. Before the attack on the two lakes, the troops had spent a few months stocking up a large amount of resources. In the battle to conquer Hubei and Hunan, the artillerymen had contributed greatly, and the steam fleet was undoubtedly the cornerstone of the war.
"Using the spirit canal is still not as good as using the sea." Lu Haiyang also sighed. In terms of strategy, he supported attacking from east to west. The spirit canal connected the water systems of Xiang River and Pearl River, allowing the water transportation to be navigable. At the same time, the spirit canal was the biggest bottleneck of the entire transportation route. Now that the spirit canal was full, if they attacked from east to west, the sea and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River would not have this limitation.
But no matter what the two thought, the battle was developing very smoothly. The Xiang Army was unable to resist the powerful artillery of the Liberation Army. After the Liberation Army occupied the city wall, they attacked the top of the city wall with lightning speed. In a short time, they divided and surrounded the Xiang Army, not giving them a chance to organize an urban battle. Whether it was quantity, weapons, training, or physique, the Liberation Army had an overwhelming advantage in every aspect. They easily crushed all the resistance of the Xiang Army.
On the 9th of January, more than ten thousand Qing Army in Jiujiang were wiped out, and the large amount of resources stored in Jiujiang fell into the hands of the Liberation Army. When the bad news reached Wuhu, Ceng Guofan was completely dumbfounded. This was not like nine years ago when the Taiping army went down the river. At that time, the Qing Army was not prepared at all and was caught off guard. Now, all the city strongholds along the coast were guarded by the Xiang Army. In theory, each stronghold should be able to stop the Liberation Army for a period of time. But this time, the march of the Liberation Army was sharper than that of nine years ago.
The Xiang Army argued endlessly on the strategic plan for the next step. Some advocated sending troops to recapture Jiujiang, some advocated holding Anqing, some advocated simply withdrawing to Luzhou, and some even advocated that the whole army participate in the siege of Yangzhou or even withdraw to Zhejiang. No matter where they went in the end, one thing was the same. The generals of the Xiang Army all thought that at this time, they should concentrate their forces to deal with the fierce attack of the Liberation Army. Of course, the Xiang Army was also suspicious about one thing. How many people did the Liberation Army have? Why did this sharp offensive momentum not slow down because of the lack of troops?
The generals of the Xiang Army, who fought out of thousands of troops and horses, argued endlessly. Finally, their eyes fell on Ceng Guofan. This big boss, who pulled the Xiang Army team to establish the strategy and tactics of the Xiang Army, did not say a word at this time. He just looked at the table thoughtfully. Obviously, he was thinking about something.
For a moment, Ceng Guofan did not notice the change in the generals. The reason he looked away had nothing to do with military or political affairs. Looking at the generals of the Xiang Army who had a white ribbon tied on their foreheads and continued to wear mourning clothes for the Guangxu Emperor, Ceng Guofan felt very uncomfortable. As for the choice of strategy, Ceng Guofan was more supportive of the plan to have the entire army participate in the siege of Yangzhou. If the Xiang Army counterattacked Jiujiang at this time, or defended Anqing, it would be a decisive battle with the Liberation Army. In history, too many people, when the war was not going well, faced enemies with high morale and continuous victories, many people chose to fight to the death. Based on the history that Ceng Guofan had seen, there were not many who played this kind of one-shot business and had good results.
Yes, Ceng Guofan could compare himself to the Conqueror of Western Chu who cut off all means of retreat, but in terms of what had happened, the Xiang Army was more like the Qin army than the Chu army.
As the tent gradually quietened down, Ceng Guofan finally realized this. He raised his head and spoke to the generals who were waiting for Ceng Guofan to speak. "The seventh day has passed. Everyone, take off your mourning clothes."
In the Zhang Emperor's camp outside Tianjing, Lin Fengxiang received the envoy sent by the Liberation Army. It had been seven years. The Liberation Army finally sent an official envoy to see Hong Xiuquan. The news that the Liberation Army had attacked the Xiang Army had already reached the Taiping Rebellion. Although it was not known how many people the Liberation Army had mobilized, the Xiang Army that was threatening Tianjing City had suffered heavy losses, which was good news for the Taiping army.
Of course, Lin Fengxiang was not unconditionally optimistic. Lin Fengxiang had seen the Liberation Army's announcement. In the announcement, the Liberation Army defined the God worshipping religion as a "cult" that needed to be severely attacked. No matter how one looked at it, this position could not be considered friendly.
The envoy was a young man in his thirties. He said, "Zhang Emperor, to tell you the truth, our commander-in-chief wants Hong Xiuquan to put down his weapons and surrender. If he doesn't surrender, we will use force to destroy him. "
"What?" Lin Fengxiang asked in surprise. In fact, he was not as surprised as he was on the surface. When people in the Taiping Rebellion mentioned Vézé, they still called him Prince Of Qi, but that was just out of habit. No one really treated Vézé as a member of the Taiping Rebellion.
The envoy said calmly, "The commander-in-chief also ordered me to tell Zhang Emperor that our army must take down the south of the Huai River in the near future. If the Taiping army resists, we can only fight with our brothers in the Heavenly State. If the Heavenly State does not resist and surrenders, we will treat our brothers well. If the Heavenly State does not want to fight or surrender, then go north. We will not stop you from going to Shaanxi, Sichuan, Henan, or Hebei. Of course, our army will also liberate Sichuan and Shaanxi in the future. But that was something that would happen several years later. Liberating the south of the Yellow River is a mission that we will accomplish no matter what. "
After hearing this, Lin Fengxiang felt a strong sense of humiliation. If the representative of the Liberation Army had put on a superior expression, the feeling of humiliation might not be as strong as it was now. Obviously, the representative of the Liberation Army was sincerely expressing goodwill. But for a soldier, it was a disgrace to be treated as an opponent by the opponent.
With great difficulty, Lin Fengxiang finally controlled his anger and said in a dignified tone, "Has Vézé decided to do this?"
The envoy replied, "Yes. Military Governor Wei has given orders to the entire army. Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Fujian. The troops on all fronts have already regarded the Qing Army and the Taiping army as enemies. But in the order of attack, our army will prioritize the Qing Army. If the Taiping army really chooses to leave, we will not pursue them. "
After confirming that the envoy was not joking, Lin Fengxiang sent the envoy away. Then, he went to visit Zhang Yingchen. In the past month or so, the Xiang Army did not continue to attack. Instead, they retreated. Liu Xiucheng had already led his troops back to Zhejiang to continue his plan to conquer Zhejiang. Yang Fuqing was also preparing to counterattack Ningguo Residence. Among the troops with combat power in Tianjing City, the strongest was Zhang Yingchen's imperial army. And the one who had the deepest relationship with Vézé was Zhang Yingchen.
After hearing Lin Fengxiang's introduction, Zhang Yingchen's expression did not change. He pursed his lips and thought for a while before saying, "I knew that this day would come. Now, Prince Of Qi has finally made his move."
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