Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 227: Conquering Huangshiji

Snapped! Bang bang!

There was a burst of crisp gunfire, and bullets whizzed past my ears.

During the shooting, although the Tang soldiers had no fortifications to rely on, they had the advantage in weapons.

The breech-loading rifles equipped by the Tang army soldiers not only had a fast firing rate, but could also be loaded and fired in a prone position, so they were not at a disadvantage in shootouts.

On the contrary, the Qing army on the opposite side was constantly suppressed, and from time to time, Qing soldiers who poked their heads out of the trenches to shoot were shot and killed.

In addition to the soldiers in the Tang army who used breech-loading rifles, there was also a small number who still used muzzle-loading rifles.

However, the muzzle-loading guns they used were muzzle-loading rifles. Although they had a slow firing rate, they had extremely high accuracy.

It can accurately shoot at the enemy on the battlefield with a very good hit rate.

There was a dull clang and Zhang Zhengbao felt his head go dark, as if he had been hit with a sledgehammer.

When he came to his senses, he subconsciously reached out and touched it, and found an obvious dent on the helmet he was wearing.

Zhang Zhengbao couldn't help but curse.

"Fuck that Qing Yao, he deserves to die!"

If it weren't for this helmet, he would have almost died.

Of course, this was also fortunately because the bird rifles used by the Qing army were not powerful enough. If the rifle just aimed at him was a foreign rifle, it would be hard to say whether the steel helmet on his head could block the bullet.

Just when Zhang Zhengbao felt fortunate.

The next moment, the rumbling sound of artillery fire resounded throughout the battlefield again.

The second round of shooting by the Tang army artillery unit began.

The Qing troops who were hiding in the trenches and behind the fortifications and firing at the Tang army were instantly stunned.

The next moment, the sound of the charge rang out again on the battlefield.

"kill!"

"Kill the clear demon!"

"Drive out the Tartars and restore China!"

"..."

Amid shouts and cries of killing, the Tang army launched another offensive.

In the blink of an eye, they successfully conquered another line of defense of the Qing army.

When the Qing soldiers saw this scene, fear and cowardice quickly spread among the army.

I don't know who started it, but the rout began.

The Tang army's offensive became more and more fierce, and the attacking troops began to chase and kill the fleeing Qing army.

Soon, they planted the Tang army's flag on the Qing army camp in Huangshiji!

……

Li Yi put down the telescope in his hand, but the smile on his face remained.

"The Fifth Division's infantry and artillery coordination is pretty good. It's clear that they practice it a lot."

"Commander Feng has put a lot of effort into exploring new tactics."

Listening to Li Yi's comments, Feng Zicai clasped his fists and said very humbly.

"I am ashamed. This is what I should do."

Li Yi continued with a smile.

"Now that Huangshiji has been conquered, we should gather our forces as quickly as possible and continue to advance eastward."

"Anqing is waiting for us ahead!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Zicai immediately clasped his fists.

"I will finally understand!"

Feng Zicai left and commanded his troops to clean up the battlefield, collect prisoners of war, and prepare for the next offensive.

Li Yi turned around and asked.

"Where are the Qing reinforcements from Jiangnan?"

After Li Yi finished speaking, Li Liang on the side responded.

"In reply to your Majesty, the Qing army in the Jiangnan direction is led by Zhang Guoliang, the commander of the Jiangnan Camp, and has now marched to Tongling."

Li Yi seemed to remember something and asked.

"If I remember correctly, this Zhang Guoliang had a past with Chief Luo when he was a bandit on the Xun River before he accepted the Qing government's offer of amnesty."

"Do you think it's possible for the Tang Dynasty to persuade him to surrender?"

After Li Yi finished speaking, everyone turned their eyes to Luo Dagang standing aside.

Luo Dagang was originally the chief of staff of the Second Army Group, but because of his great contributions in the Guangxi war, after the war Li Yi transferred him to the General Staff as the director of the Military Law Department.

He also followed the army in this eastern expedition!

Upon hearing this, Luo Dagang spoke.

"Your Majesty is right. When I was a bandit on Xunjiang River and led my brothers to gather in the mountains and swamps, I did have dealings with Zhang Guoliang."

"Now that our Tang Dynasty is facing Zhang Guoliang, I am willing to come forward to persuade him to surrender."

"However, Zhang Guoliang has been loyal to the Qing court since he surrendered. I am not sure that I can persuade him to surrender successfully..."

Luo Dagang's words were not an excuse, but he was really unsure.

When he was still in the Taiping Army, the Taiping Army was trapped in Dongxiang, Wuxuan. Luo Dagang once sent a messenger to contact Zhang Guoliang, hoping to use his previous relationship with him to buy a way out, but was flatly rejected by Zhang Guoliang.

Not only did Zhang Guoliang refuse Luo Dagang's request to sell his way, he even killed his messenger to show his determination.

Therefore, Luo Dagang did not hold out much hope that he could persuade Zhang Guoliang to surrender.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi just nodded slightly.

"Let's give it a try. If it's done, we can avoid a fierce battle and recruit a brave general for our Tang Dynasty."

"It doesn't matter if it doesn't work out. There won't be any loss anyway."

Luo Dagang nodded immediately.

Then he went down to prepare to persuade Zhang Guoliang to surrender.

Soon, the battle of Huangshiji came to an end.

The Tang army briefly rested and continued to march eastward, heading towards Anqing City. …

The news that Huangshiji was captured by the Tang army seemed to have grown wings and spread rapidly.

Not only did Anqing receive the news, but Luzhou also received relevant battle reports.

Li Hongzhang, holding a battle report handed over from Anqing in his hand, approached Lu Xianji with a serious face.

"Sir, urgent news from Anqing: Huangshiji has been lost, and the main force of the Tang army is about to advance to Anqing."

"I'm afraid Anqing is in danger now..."

Lu Xianji, who was busy handling official business, looked up when he heard this, took the war report from Li Hongzhang and began to read it.

Looking at the lines of text on the battle report, Lu Xianji's face began to become solemn.

"Huangshiji only lasted less than half a day."

"It is said that the Tang bandits are sharp and unstoppable. Now it seems that this is true!"

Lu Xianji closed the battle report and said solemnly.

"Anqing, I'm afraid it's going to be dangerous..."

Li Hongzhang on the side also said with great emotion.

"As expected, they are the strongest soldiers in the world who can defeat the foreigners. Their reputation is well-deserved."

It is no secret that the Tang army once defeated the foreigners in Guangzhou.

In order to promote its own military power, even though the Qing court did not want to "boost the morale of others and destroy its own prestige", it pretended that nothing had happened.

The Tang Dynasty also needs to publicize itself all over the world.

With the Tang Dynasty’s vigorous publicity, naturally many people knew about it!

However, before this, Li Hongzhang had only lamented the Tang army's fierce fighting power, but he actually had no intuitive concept of how strong the Tang army's fighting power was.

It was not until now that Li Hongzhang finally understood the situation.

It is said that the Tang army is powerful. Now it seems to be true.

Huangshiji, where thousands of soldiers were stationed, could not even hold out for half a day against the Tang army.

This is really shocking!
After expressing his feelings, Li Hongzhang asked.

"Sir, once Anqing falls, the Tang army will certainly continue eastward along the Yangtze River and invade Jiangnan."

"What do you think we should do here?"

Faced with the current world situation, Li Hongzhang is unwilling to be lonely.

Otherwise, he would not have given up his job as an official in Beijing and instigated Lu Xianji to return to Anhui to organize militia and fight against the bandits.

Hearing this, Lu Xianji frowned and asked.

"Jianfu, what do you mean?"

Li Hongzhang spoke.

"When the main force of the Tang bandits advances eastward from Anqing, we can mobilize all the troops in Luzhou to march south, recapture Anqing, and harass the Tang bandits' food supply route..."

Since the Tang army was advancing along the Yangtze River, there was no doubt that they would use the Yangtze River waterway to transport grain.

If they could recapture Anqing and threaten the Yangtze River waterway, which was the Tang army's food route, then the Qing would have more bargaining chips to win the next battle in Jiangnan.

After this incident, Li Hongzhang would naturally be able to emerge in the court.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xianji nodded approvingly.

"Although this is a bit risky, it is feasible."

"But I'm afraid the governor will not agree to the army leaving Luzhou to take risks, right?"

Lu Xianji thought he knew something about Fu Ji, this cowardly guy.

Since he could, for the sake of his own life, he abandoned Anqing and fled to Luzhou to live like a coward.

If you want him to send the garrison in Luzhou to take risks for the sake of the Qing Dynasty, I'm afraid he would never agree even if you beat him to death.

Li Hongzhang heard this and spoke.

"Sir, I am not going to use the Green Camp soldiers who have already become rotten, but I am going to use the militia."

Li Hongzhang never forgot that the main purpose of his and Lu Xianji's visit to Anhui was to organize militia to fight against the bandits.

It is expected that the Green Camp soldiers cannot be relied upon!

Upon hearing this, Lu Xianji first nodded slightly, then shook his head slightly.

"It's just that it's not an easy task to form a group training in a short period of time and to have combat effectiveness."

Upon hearing this, Li Hongzhang said immediately.

"I am willing to donate my family property and call on my clansmen to organize militia to fight against the bandits!"

"I believe that if I set an example, Anhui gentry will actively participate. In this way, it should not be a problem to set up the militia in a short period of time."

Li Hongzhang gave Lu Xianji crazy hints.

Old Lu, I, Li Hongzhang, have ruined my family to help the country. You, Old Lu, can’t let down your guard at this time!
The corners of Lu Xianji's mouth twitched, and just as he was about to agree, a servant of the Lu family hurried in from outside.

"Master, Master, something terrible has happened!"

"The Tang bandits have reached the outskirts of Luzhou City!"

The servant ran to Lu Xianji in a panic and began to report.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xianji's eyes widened instantly and he asked in disbelief.

"This...what the hell is going on?"

"How could this happen?!"

The servant shook his head vigorously to indicate that he didn't know.

Just spoke.

"Master, please go and take a look. Luzhou City is in chaos now."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xianji could no longer sit still. He immediately stood up from his chair and walked out with Li Hongzhang.

As soon as he walked outside the militia office, he saw Anhui Governor Zhao Yuming head-on.

"Lord Lu, please follow me to the military camp to calm the soldiers down. The Tang bandits suddenly attacked, and the soldiers defending Luzhou are in a mess."

Zhao Yuming looked anxious and urged.

(End of this chapter)