Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 213 Lao Hong: Who researched this thing...

Tianjing City, Heavenly Palace!
Prince Gan Hong Rengan hurried to the outside of the Heavenly King's Palace and said to a guard of the Heavenly King's Palace.

"Go and report immediately. This prince requires to see the Heavenly King. I have something important to report!"

"No delay!"

Seeing Hong Rengan's anxious look, the guard did not dare to delay at all. He clasped his fists in response, turned hurriedly into the Heavenly King's Palace, and then went to report.

Not long after, he completed the notification and invited Hong Rengan into the Heavenly King's Palace.

He led the way and took Hong Rengan to Hong Xiuquan.

At this time, Hong Xiuquan was fishing by a pond, holding a gold-inlaid fishing rod in his hand, staring at the water without blinking, with obvious nervousness and anticipation in his expression.

The reason why Lao Hong didn't hold a party today but instead went fishing to cultivate his character was actually very simple.

It’s not that he didn’t want to open the silver party, but his body couldn’t bear it and he really couldn’t open it.

Well, the kind that can’t be opened even after taking medicine.

Therefore, Lao Hong decided to take it slow for two days before continuing.

Then, he became addicted to fishing and found that it was even more addictive than throwing a party.

Who researched this? It's really interesting!
Hong Rengan was brought to Hong Xiuquan, who first bowed and saluted, then leaned close to Hong Xiuquan's ear and spoke.

"Heavenly King, urgent military information, Suzhou has been lost!"

"After the city was captured, Zeng Shuiyuan died in Suzhou. Hu Yihuang and Huang Wenjin are leading the remaining troops to retreat to Tianjing..."

When Hong Xiuquan heard this, shock was visibly evident on his face.

Even the hand holding the fishing rod trembled noticeably.

You know, when fishermen are fishing, it is not an exaggeration to say that the hands holding the fishing rod are as steady as Mount Tai.

If Hong Xiuquan had not been truly shocked, he would never have been unable to hold on to the fishing rod.

Hong Xiuquan turned around and asked with a slightly trembling voice.

"What exactly is going on?"

"Wasn't Suzhou well defended? How could it be lost all of a sudden? What are Hu Yihuang and the others doing for a living?!"

Hong Rengan said with a grim expression.

"Reply to the King."

"The Qing demons obtained a batch of foreign cannons from the foreigners and hired a few foreign gunners to operate the cannons. These foreign cannons suddenly appeared outside Suzhou City and destroyed the city wall in a short time, catching our army off guard."

"That's why Suzhou was lost!"

Hong Xiuquan angrily threw down his fishing rod and roared.

"These damn foreign devils actually assisted the Qing demons and helped the tyrants to commit atrocities?!"

"I thought of them as my foreign brothers, but I never thought they would stand on the side of the Qing demons to deal with me. I must report this to the Heavenly Father and ask Him to punish these damned foreign devils..."

After venting for a while, Hong Xiuquan finally calmed down.

He asked with a serious expression.

"Ren Gan, Suzhou is lost. What do you think will happen to my kingdom of heaven next?"

Hong Xiuquan is really confused now and doesn't know what to do.

Upon hearing this, Hong Rengan spoke.

"Reply to the King."

"If Suzhou is lost, the Qing army's Jiangnan camp will likely head straight to Zhenjiang from Suzhou to support the Qing army in Jiangbei to cross the river."

"At that time, our army in Zhenjiang will likely be attacked from both sides by the Qing army in the south and north of the Yangtze River, and Zhenjiang will probably be difficult to defend."

"Once Suzhou and Zhenjiang fall, Tianjing will be in imminent danger."

"My opinion is that our Heavenly Kingdom should temporarily leave Tianjing and move towards Anhui or Zhejiang to avoid the enemy's attack and wait for the future."

If before Suzhou was captured by the Qing army, Hong Rengan had indeed tried to defend Tianjing.

Because, at that time, there was indeed a possibility that Tianjing could be defended.

As long as the Tang Dynasty sends reinforcements in time, the Qing army will most likely choose to retreat. At that time, the situation in Tianjing will naturally turn from danger to safety.

However, with the fall of Suzhou, the Qing army's Jiangnan camp could march straight in at any time, along the canal all the way to Zhenjiang, and support the Qing army in Jiangbei to cross the river.

Tianjing has completely lost the possibility of being defended!
Under such circumstances, the Taiping Army's continued choice to hold on to Tianjing had completely lost its meaning.

It is better to prepare for a transition, preserve your strength, and plan for the future!

Once the Qing army recaptures Tianjing, the next step will certainly be to fight the Tang army.

When the Qing demons and the main force of the Tang army start fighting, the Heavenly Kingdom can naturally take advantage of the situation and make a comeback.

However, after hearing this, Hong Xiuquan flatly refused.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"I have the protection of Heavenly Father, the Emperor God, and Tianjing is the place where Heavenly Father, the Emperor God told me personally is the kingdom of heaven on earth. How can I easily abandon it?"

"Don't mention the idea of ​​abandoning the city anymore. Even if I do, I will never leave Tianjing, the paradise on earth that was bestowed upon me by the Heavenly Father, the Emperor God!"

Hong Xiuquan's attitude was unusually serious and his words were full of unquestionable authority.

After hearing this, Hong Rengan wanted to continue persuading him.

"But Heavenly King, once the Qing demons' southern and northern camps arrive, Tianjin will be in danger."

When Hong Xiuquan heard this, he was very confused.

"Heaven has the protection of the Heavenly Father, God. There is no need to worry about these things."

"When the Heavenly Father Emperor God appears, Tianjin will surely be out of danger!"

Perhaps his brain was damaged by the money-making, or perhaps he was suffering from a mental illness, but now Hong Xiuquan was extremely paranoid and believed that he was really blessed by God.

Think that the current difficulties are just a test from Heavenly Father!

As long as he could hold on, then Heaven would surely show its help, and then everything would be out of danger. Upon hearing this, Hong Rengan opened his mouth to speak, but in the end he could not say anything.

Hong Xiuquan refused to listen to advice, and there was nothing he, as a subject, could do.

Just when Hong Rengan was speechless, Hong Xiuquan continued to ask.

"Ren Gan, do you have any other opinions about the defense of Tianjing?"

Upon hearing this, Hong Rengan perked up and spoke.

"In reply to the Heavenly King, in my opinion, if our Heavenly Kingdom wants to defend Tianjing, then the next priority is to find a way to stop the Qing demon's Jiangnan camp."

"Prevent the Qing demons' Jiangnan camp from supporting the Jiangbei Qing demons in crossing the river."

"Only if the Qing demons from the south and north of the Yangtze River cannot merge together, will there be hope of defending Tianjing."

Since Hong Xiuquan refused to leave, Hong Rengan could only find a way to defend the city.

Upon hearing this, Hong Xiuquan nodded approvingly.

"Ren Gan is right."

"But, Rengan, who do you think is more suitable to lead the troops to stop the Qing Yao's Jiangnan camp from advancing?"

Hong Rengan pondered for a while, then spoke.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the first thing we should do is to have Hu Yihuang and Huang Wenjin organize the defeated troops and withdraw to Danyang to prepare for the offensive of the Qing demons' Jiangnan camp."

"Then, we can dispatch troops from Zhenjiang to support the battle in Danyang."

The reason why Hong Rengan made such an arrangement was very simple.

Because Danyang is only a few dozen miles away from Zhenjiang, Taiping stationed troops in Danyang to facilitate the transfer of troops from Zhenjiang to reinforce the Danyang war.

Moreover, if the war in Zhenjiang becomes urgent, Danyang can also dispatch troops to reinforce it at the first time.

In this way, the Taiping Army in Zhenjiang and Danyang could support each other and resist the offensive of the Qing army.

By then, there might still be hope of defending Tianjing!
Hong Xiuquan thought for a while, then nodded and agreed.

……

At the same time, Zhenjiang Prefecture!

Taiping Army Defense Line!
In order to prevent the Qing army in Jiangbei from crossing the river, the Taiping Army set up a defense line in Zhenjiang.

This line of defense gathered almost all of Heavenly Kingdom’s main forces in Zhenjiang.

Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, Zhou Shengkun, Yu Tingzhang, Tang Zhengcai and other generals in the army were sent to Zhenjiang.

It can be said that there are a large number of troops and generals.

The Yangtze River is vast and misty. Gusts of breeze blow over, fluttering the sails of the boats.

On the wide river, large and small boats are connected one after another, stretching as far as the eye can see.

These ships were flying the Taiping Army’s flags, revealing their identities to everyone.

Tang Zhengcai stood on the deck of his ship, looking towards Jiangbei with a telescope in hand.

As the inspector of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's navy camp, he was currently leading the Taiping navy on a patrol on the Yangtze River, while also monitoring the movements of the Qing army on the other side.

During this period, although there had been no large-scale battles between the Taiping Army and the Qing Army, clashes between the navies occurred frequently.

The Qing army sent navy several times to try to transport Qing soldiers across the Yangtze River, but they were discovered by the Taiping Army every time.

The two sides fought several times, with the Taiping Army winning more and losing less.

Under the command of Tang Zhengcai, the Taiping Army now firmly controls the Yangtze River waterway.

Just as Tang Zhengcai was observing Jiangbei, a Taiping Navy officer came to report anxiously.

"Report, please check. Our outpost ship has found traces of the Qing Demon Navy in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River."

Tang Zhengcai raised his eyebrows and asked with some interest.

"The Demonic Water Master is here again?"

"How many men are there, how many ships are there, and who is leading the troops?"

Upon hearing this, the Taiping Army's naval officer swallowed his saliva and then spoke.

"If we check back, there are a lot of demon-clearing ships coming this time. A rough estimate is that there are at least 300 large and small ships."

"Looking at the flags, the troops are led by Li Zhao, the admiral of the Yangtze River Navy of the Qing Dynasty, and Altai, the admiral of the Fujian Navy."

"Check your eyes. Among the Qing demon navy that came this time, there are not only traditional ships such as red single boats, fast crab boats, sand boats, but also several foreign ships as big as small mountains..."

“It’s scary!”

When Tang Zhengcai heard this, the expression on his face changed slightly.

My heart skipped a beat.

How did foreigners get involved?

When he was making a living on the Yangtze River, he had heard a lot about how powerful the foreigners' ships and guns were.

Nowadays, the Taiping Army’s navy can firmly suppress the Qing Army’s navy.

But if he had to face foreigners, Tang Zhengcai couldn't help feeling unsure.

However, for the sake of military morale, Tang Zhengcai did not show his guilty conscience, but just waved his hand nonchalantly and said.

"Haha, they're just foreigners, what's there to be afraid of?"

"It is said that the foreign navy has strong ships and powerful guns, and the foreign infantry is even stronger and more skilled in fighting. We cannot match them."

"But weren't they also completely annihilated by the Tang Kingdom in Guangzhou before? Even the so-called envoy was beheaded?"

"It's OK with the Tang Kingdom. As an ally of the Tang Kingdom, our Heavenly Kingdom can do the same."

"They are just a bunch of foreigners. There is nothing to be afraid of!"

"Send a flag order to all units of our army, and have the soldiers prepare for battle to fight against the Qing monsters..."

(End of this chapter)