Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 208 Zhao Zhongyong: This is called advancing in front of the battle!

Huguang Admiral Zhao Zhongyong rode on horseback and looked at Jiangxia City in the distance.

On the side, Wuchang General Xue Fangzhi asked.

"Sir Admiral, are we going to attack the city?"

Min Tongguang on the other side also looked over, as if asking Zhao Zhongyong for his opinion.

The corners of Zhao Zhongyong's mouth twitched, and then he spoke.

"What the hell!"

"Last night, in the battle at Xiaogushan, our brothers suffered heavy losses. Although we are reorganizing our forces now, the morale of the army has dropped to freezing point."

"In this situation, are we going to use our heads to attack the city?"

The reason why Zhao Zhongyong led his troops back to Jiangxia after reorganizing his forces was, to put it bluntly, that he was worried that General Guan Wen of Jingzhou and Governor Tai Yong of Huguang would punish him.

That's why he led his troops back to Jiangxia, hoping to see if there was any chance to make meritorious service and thereby alleviate some of the guilt on his shoulders.

Therefore, after he finished speaking, Zhao Zhongyong added.

"Of course, that's not necessarily the case."

"Let's see the specific situation first."

"If the reinforcements sent by the general from the north bank have a chance to capture Jiangxia, we will lend a hand."

"If the battle does not go smoothly, we will retreat first and conserve our strength for the future."

Zhao Zhongyong had already escaped once in Xiaogushan, so of course he didn't mind escaping again.

His life is his own, and the country belongs to the emperor. Zhao Zhongyong certainly knows which is more important.

In the Battle of Xiaogushan, he was really frightened by the fighting power of the Tang army.

With only a hundred soldiers, they were able to chase down thousands of them and even captured Jiangxia.

Such a record made Zhao Zhongyong involuntarily think of the invincible Eight Banners when the Qing Dynasty first entered the pass.

It’s a pity that the Eight Banners have become rotten nowadays.

But Tang Zei is at his peak...

……

After completing the landing, the Qing troops in Hanyang Prefecture on the north bank huddled together in a mess on the dock.

It took a lot of effort to assemble the team and launch an offensive towards Jiangxia City.

As the Qing army approached, the Tang army defending the city began to raise their guns and shoot to stop the Qing army.

Snapped! Bang bang!

Gunshots rang out, and Tang army soldiers aimed at the Qing army outside the city and opened fire.

The Qing army's musketeers also raised their guns and aimed at the top of the city wall and shot.

However, most of the bullets were blocked by the parapet and failed to cause any damage to the Tang army behind it.

However, the Tang army soldiers achieved good results because of their superior fighting style.

Amid the sound of gunfire, Qing soldiers continued to fall to the ground.

After Bao Chao loaded the rifle in his hand, he raised it and fired. A crisp gunshot was heard, and a Qing army officer under the city was shot and fell to the ground.

But before Bao Chao could finish shooting and retract his head, a bullet came and brushed past his face, knocking off a small piece of his ear, and blood gushed out instantly.

The bright red blood dyed half of Bao Chao's face red!

Bao Chao subconsciously retracted his head.

As he reached out to touch the side of his face, he was filled with fear.

Damn it, Old Bao almost died here today!
Looking at the blood on his hands and feeling the pain in his ears, Bao Chao couldn't help but grimace.

"Fuck that Qing demon!"

This feeling of being on the verge of death and injury made his heart full of mixed emotions of anger and fear.

Pull open the bolt, take out the remnants of the paper shell bullet left inside, insert a new bullet, and reload.

Bao Chao raised his gun and shot again. With a bang, another Qing soldier was shot and fell to the ground under the city.

Seeing that more and more Qing troops were gathering outside Jiangxia City, Bao Chao shouted at the top of his voice.

"Grenade!"

"Throw!"

Amid shouts, several grenades were thrown from the top of the city wall into the crowd of Qing troops under the wall.

The next moment, an explosion was heard, and a cloud of smoke and dust filled the air. The Qing soldiers who had gathered together under the city wall were blown to the ground.

Broken limbs and arms were flying everywhere, and blood mist filled the air in the smoke.

boom! Boom boom!

Several artillery explosions resounded throughout the battlefield. The Qing army, which had completed its landing, set up artillery outside Jiangxia City, aimed at the Jiangxia city walls and began to deliver fire.

Several artillery shells were fired in succession, causing the bricks and stones of Jiangxia city wall to fly.

The Tang army soldiers could not help but shrink their heads to avoid the artillery fire.

But even so, many people were hit by the flying bricks and stones, and screams were heard for a while.

Fortunately, the few artillery pieces the Qing army now have are all light artillery, and overall they pose limited threat to the Jiangxia city walls.

If the Qing army transported a few heavy artillery pieces, the Tang army, which lacked heavy weapons, would be in trouble.

After the artillery bombardment temporarily suppressed the Tang army.

Long ladders were set up, and the Qing soldiers prepared to climb the city walls along the ladders.

At the same time, the Qing soldiers under the city wall also fired volleys of muskets, trying to cooperate with the artillery fire to suppress the Tang army on the top of the city and cover their own troops to climb the city.

However, although the Qing army was firing in salvos, they were shooting from low to high, so their hit rate was not high.

It cannot effectively suppress the counterattack of the Tang army!

Snap! Snap! Snap!
The sound of musketry firing rang out from both inside and outside the city.

Relying on the firing rate advantage of their breech-loading rifles, the Tang army soldiers fiercely fired at the Qing army, which had the numerical advantage.

The casualties on both sides are constantly rising.

Bao Chao took out some gauze and simply bandaged the wound on his ear, then prepared to continue commanding the troops to fight.

At this moment, with a loud bang, the Qing army blew open the city gate of Jiangxia with gunpowder.

Amid the billowing black smoke, the Jiangxia city gate disappeared.

The inside of the city gate was pitch black, as if it was the mouth of a giant beast, wide open, ready to swallow everything.

However, the Qing army was not afraid at all when they saw this, but their morale was boosted.

"The city is broken, the city is broken!"

"Kill! Brothers, follow me and kill!"

"Kill the Tang thieves! Save the Qing Dynasty!"

"..."

The Qing army began to prepare to pass through the city gate and enter Jiangxia City.

However, as soon as these Qing troops entered the city gate, they were greeted by a burst of gunfire.

Bang bang! Bang bang bang!

A dense barrage of bullets came, and the Qing army that first rushed into the city gate was shot down.

……

While the two sides were fighting fiercely, Zhao Zhongyong in the east of the city put down his telescope and spoke.

"Damn it, the gate of Jiangxia has been breached. Now the imperial army may be able to retake Jiangxia."

Thinking about this, Zhao Zhongyong's mood began to cheer up.

However, before he could order the army to attack and assist the Qing troops coming from the north bank in attacking Jiangxia, he saw a messenger running towards him from a distance.

"Report!"

"Admiral! Sir Admiral, the Tang bandits, the Tang bandits' reinforcements have arrived!"

The Qing army messenger pointed his finger to the west with a look of fear on his face.

When Zhao Zhongyong heard this, the boiling blood in his body instantly cooled down, and he frowned and asked.

"How many people came?"

The messenger's face showed no less fear, and he pointed to the west while trembling a little.

"There are so many of them that I can't even count them at a glance. There must be at least more than 10,000..." Zhao Zhongyong couldn't help but take a breath when he heard that, and then said.

"Fuck, so many people?"

"What a joke!"

"Pass the order, the whole army retreats, run away, or we'll be caught up again..."

If the reinforcements from the Tang army only had a few hundred men, Zhao Zhongyi might have chosen to fight to the death to reduce his guilt for the defeat.

However, when he learned that the number of Tang troops coming to support him was more than 10,000, Zhao Zhongyi instantly became timid.

Give it a try?
Fight your sister!

There's no way a mantis trying to stop a chariot could do this!
If these rotten soldiers under his command could be more powerful than a division of Tang troops, he would not have been chased around by Bao Chao's reconnaissance company last night.

Now that the time has come, it’s better to run away to save your life!
Oh, no, it should be called "move forward"...

……

With the arrival of Tang army reinforcements, the Qing army from Hanyang Prefecture that crossed the river to retake Jiangxia also instantly withered.

Some wanted to escape, while others wanted to fight one last time, and the battle quickly fell into chaos.

"The Tang bandits' reinforcements are here, retreat, run away!"

"Jiangxia is almost taken. Don't retreat. Don't retreat. Hold on!"

"Brothers, keep killing! Grit your teeth and make more efforts to break into the city..."

Seeing their reinforcements arrive, the Qing army fell into chaos. Bao Chao and others who had been suppressed by the Qing army in Jiangxia City for such a long time saw this scene and their morale was boosted and they began to counterattack.

"kill!"

"Brothers, kill!"

"Kill the Qing monsters, long live the Tang Dynasty!"

"Drive out the Tartars and restore China!"

"..."

The Qing army, in chaos, was completely defeated by a counterattack by the Tang army defending the city.

The dark mass of Qing troops fled all the way, retreated to the riverside, and began to scramble to board ships and escape to the north of the river.

In panic, the Qing soldiers even began to fight among themselves, drawing their swords against each other and scrambling to seize the boats to cross the river.

In the chaos, the Qing army suffered heavy casualties before the Tang army even took action.

Finally, as the main force of the Tang army led by Li Yiwen arrived and entered the battlefield, the Qing army began to surrender in desperation, just to save their lives.

At this point, the battle of Jiangxia came to a temporary end.

……

After the war, in Jiangxia City, the Tang army was conducting a post-war review.

Zhao Xiang sat in the main seat, flipping through the battle report and spoke.

"Bao Chao did a good job."

"A company of soldiers defeated thousands of Qing troops and captured Wuchang Prefecture and Jiangxia. This is truly heroic."

"I think we can make him a role model and publicize him more in the military."

"In this way, the soldiers will surely be more brave when fighting on the battlefield."

Zhao Xiang is very optimistic about Bao Chao.

Not to mention anything else, the battle of Xiaogushan and Jiangxia City alone is enough for Bao Chao to live on for the rest of his life.

As long as he can make contributions in the future, his path to promotion will be sure.

Bai Yuanqin on the side also said this.

"What's even more commendable is that Bao Chao was a captive of the Qing army."

"When he was in the Qing army, he was inconspicuous, but in our Tang Dynasty, he made many military achievements and was promoted. This matter can also be publicized."

"As long as the publicity is good, it will not only show that the Tang Dynasty is not picky about personnel, but also attract more Qing troops to surrender voluntarily."

"Kill two birds with one stone, nothing more than that!"

Zhao Xiang said with a smile.

"I heard that Bao Chao was promoted by Shixian? Shixian has a good eye and is good at judging people!"

Li Shixian heard this and said with pride.

"It was Bao Chao himself who was loyal and brave. I just gave him a chance."

"Even if there is no last general, Bao Chao will come to the fore sooner or later."

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

After talking about this, everyone started discussing other things.

Zhao Xiang continued.

"According to the strategic plan formulated by the DPRK, our army's next move will be mainly to march eastward."

"There's no need to doubt this!"

"But, in my opinion, it would be best for our army to cross the river and capture Hanyang first, clearing away this worry, and then march eastward at a later time."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid that after our main force marches eastward, the Qing army in Jiangbei will repeat its old tricks and invade Jiangxia..."

The reason why the Tang army marched along the Yangtze River during this eastern expedition was because they wanted to use the Yangtze River's convenient water transportation to transport the logistical supplies needed by the army.

Reduce logistical pressure as much as possible and reduce the number of civilian laborers who need to be conscripted to reduce the impact of war on people's livelihood.

In other words, Jiangxia, the capital of Wuchang Prefecture, was an important node on the Tang army's logistics route.

However, Hanyang is only separated from Jiangxia by a river.

In later generations, both were even just districts of Wuhan, so you can imagine how close they were.

If Hanyang cannot be captured, Jiangxia City will always be exposed to the threat of the Qing army.

This means that the Tang army's logistical supply lines could be threatened by the Qing army at any time.

This was naturally unacceptable to the Tang army!
Bai Yuanqin heard this and spoke.

"What you said makes sense."

"Hanyang is too close to Jiangxia. If our army wants to successfully march east, we must capture it first."

Upon seeing this, Li Yiwen asked for a fight.

"Commander, Chief of Staff, I would like to ask for your help. Please be the vanguard to cross the river and capture Hanyang for the Tang Dynasty."

Zhao Xiang and Bai Yuanqin looked at each other, exchanged opinions, and Bai Yuanqin spoke.

"Your army has already made a name for itself in the Jiangxia battle. You should let others take the credit for the Hanyang battle."

After hearing this, Li Yiwen felt too embarrassed to ask for a fight again. He just stepped aside and sat down, then quietly listened to everyone discussing military affairs.

……

Hanyang Prefecture across the river!
Unlike the joyful atmosphere after the great victory of the Tang army in Jiangxia City, the Hanyang Prefecture in Jiangbei was filled with depression and dejection after a great defeat.

On both sides of the street, every household had their doors and windows closed, and there were no pedestrians on the streets.

The Qing soldiers walked on the empty streets, carrying their weapons on their backs, all looking dejected.

The great defeat at Jiangxia almost made the Qing army lose the courage to fight the Tang army.

The Qing army was in a panic, and the atmosphere in Hanyang City was also solemn and depressing.

"Hey, everyone, tell me, what should we do next?"

Jingzhou General Guan Wen asked.

His face was full of fatigue, his beard was untidy, and his eyes were full of red bloodshot.

Since receiving news that the Tang army might march eastward, he led his troops to Wuchang Prefecture in an attempt to block the Tang army's eastward advance.

Unexpectedly, he came with full confidence and was even more confident when arranging his troops, vowing that he would definitely win in the end.

But the final outcome was contrary to expectations. In the Battle of Jiangxia, not only the government of Wuchang Prefecture was lost, but also Guanwen's confidence.

It was so tragic! The Qing army suffered such a terrible defeat in this battle!
From the beginning to the end, they were almost always led by the Tang army and had no ability to fight back at all!
Seeing this, Huguang Admiral Bao Yong, who was standing by, spoke up.

"General, I think the first thing our army should think about is how to defend Hanyang."

"Now that the Tang army has taken Jiangxia, if they want to continue their expedition to the east, they will most likely not let go of Hanyang!"

……

Finally the call came. I will update one chapter first. I will try my best to code the second chapter, but it may not be there.

(End of this chapter)