Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 235: Battle of Jiangning (Part )

Zhang Guoliang knew very well the purpose of Wang Shou's visit.

Under such circumstances, he still agreed to Wang Shou's request for an audience, which is actually very telling.

After Senggelinqin was defeated by the Tang army when he left the city today, Zhang Guoliang realized that Jiangning could not be defended.

Therefore, he suggested to Yiliang that they retreat to Zhenjiang or Jiangyin.

However, Yiliang flatly rejected his suggestion and insisted on defending Jiangning, the deadly place.

In that case, don't blame Zhang Guoliang for making other considerations for yourself!
To put it bluntly, the reason why he chose to rebel and then accepted the Qing court's amnesty was for glory and wealth.

As for loyalty to the court?
Haha, if Zhang Guoliang was really loyal, he should have been an ordinary citizen until he died of old age or starved to death.

How could they do such a heinous act as rebellion?

……

Wang Shou was taken into Zhang Guoliang's military tent by his personal soldiers.

After entering the military tent, Wang Shou politely bowed to Zhang Guoliang and said.

"I haven't seen you for a few days. How are you, Admiral Zhang?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guoliang responded with a controlled smile.

"If you, the Tang Dynasty, can withdraw your troops, this admiral will naturally be very happy."

Although he had made up his mind to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.

However, the terms of surrender still need to be negotiated.

Before the conditions were agreed upon, it was naturally impossible for Zhang Guoliang to be too enthusiastic towards Wang Shou.

Otherwise, he would be in trouble in the following negotiations!

Wang Shou replied with a smile.

"Your Excellency the Admiral is wrong."

"If the Tang Dynasty really withdraws its troops, based on the Qing Yao's past behavior, then the Admiral will probably be abandoned soon."

Killing meritorious officials was not done by only Liu and Zhu.

The same was true of the Qing Dynasty.

Otherwise, why would the Eight Banners descendants support Yongli in Kunming to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty?
Wasn't it because Shunzhi was purge the old subordinates of Dorgon and Dodo that they were forced to rebel?

Otherwise, how could Wu Sangui, an old man who had been a traitor for most of his life, have nothing better to do than to rebel?

To put it bluntly, wasn't it because he was forced into a corner by Emperor Kangxi's policy of reducing the power of the feudal lords?
If Wu Sangui really wanted to rebel, why did he want to kill Yongli? Why didn't he do it when he was young and strong? Why did he have to wait until he was buried in the earth before starting a rebellion? Is there something wrong with his brain?
Therefore, Kang Mazi was at least half responsible for the outbreak of the Three Feudatories Rebellion.

Fortunately, Kang Mazi, the enhanced version of Emperor Xiaowen ProMax, stabilized the war situation, otherwise the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories would probably have turned into the Jingnan Campaign of the Qing Dynasty.

Wu Sangui was about to change his name to Aisin-Gioro Sangui and go to the capital to weaken the power of Kangxi, the grandson of Kangxi who failed in his attempt to weaken the power of the vassal states and ended up being weakened instead.

Well, a true grandson.

Wu Sangui's son married Huang Taiji's daughter. As Huang Taiji's grandson, Kangxi is Wu Sangui's grandson, isn't he?

In addition, there is the biography of traitors written by Hong Chengchou, and the large-scale expulsion of the Han army flag. These are all the achievements made by our Qing Dynasty in clearing away meritorious officials.

Of course, what Wang Shou said now was just for the sake of rebuttal.

The current world situation is a time when the Qing Dynasty needs elite soldiers and powerful generals to suppress the world. Even if Xianfeng is crazy, he would not settle accounts with his heroes and destroy the Great Wall now.

Zhang Guoliang was naturally well aware of this.

But after listening to Wang Shou's words, Zhang Guoliang acted as if he was touched by his words, took a deep breath, and spoke with a serious expression.

"Sir, you and I both know the purpose of your visit."

"In that case, there's no need to waste any more time talking nonsense. Just state the conditions directly."

"If this admiral leads his army to surrender, what conditions can the Tang Dynasty give me?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shou stopped beating around the bush and spoke directly.

"The king has personally instructed that if Admiral Zhang is willing to turn against the enemy on the battlefield, our Tang Dynasty can give him an infantry division, the rank of Lieutenant General, and the title of Earl."

"In addition, you can also reward the governor with 10,000 silver dollars, 1,000 acres of fertile land, and a number of jewels and treasures."

"Your Excellency the Admiral should know that the Tang Dynasty never mistreats its meritorious officials!"

Zhang Guoliang couldn't help but feel moved when he heard this. Just by listening to these conditions, he knew that the Tang Dynasty was sincere in recruiting him.

After thinking for a long time, Zhang Guoliang finally nodded and said.

"That's okay!"

"I just don't know what I should do next?"

Wang Shou spoke.

"Next, our Tang Dynasty will formally launch an offensive against Jiangning City."

"When my army attacks the city, you can raise troops to support us. By then, with the help of both inside and outside forces, Jiangning will be easily within our grasp..."

Zhang Guoliang heard this and took a deep breath.

"Okay, I understand!"

After discussing for a while the relevant matters regarding Zhang Guoliang's troops' rebellion on the battlefield, Wang Shou took his leave.

Afterwards, Zhang Guoliang ordered his personal soldiers to invite all his trusted confidants in the camp to discuss important matters.

Zhang Guoliang couldn't do such a thing as starting a rebellion alone.

But it's not a good idea to make a big fuss.

Therefore, he only planned to discuss with his confidants.

As for the others, we can just wait until the time comes to coerce them.

Once the Tang army officially launched the siege, Zhang Guoliang believed that the wavering factions under his command would make the right choice.

Everyone joins the army just to make a living, and firing three shots in the battle is already considered worthy of the military pay given by the Manchu emperor.

There's no need to risk your life, right?

...On the second day, the Tang army began to prepare for a general attack on Jiangning City.

At the same time, the joint fleet of the Qing army and foreigners also went up the river and arrived at the river near Jiangning, confronting the Tang army navy from a distance.

Paul, the commander of the British fleet, stood on the deck of his flagship, the three-class sailing battleship Maria, holding a telescope and looking at the Tang army ships on the river in the distance, his expression slightly solemn.

Although it was visible to the naked eye that the Tang army did not have many large ships.

But those small boats were clearly equipped with rocket launchers.

Black smoke was still billowing above many ships, and it was obvious that steam engines had been installed to drive the ships.

Paul understood that the Tang army did not have many large ships.

But they are always different from the Qing army!

Although Paul did not participate in the Battle of Guangzhou that year, he knew the whole story clearly.

At that time, the British army did not gain any advantage against the Tang army.

Not only did they fail to gain any advantage, but they even lost Hong Kong.

Soon, the war began and a roar was heard on the surface of the Yangtze River.

Boom! Boom!
Following Paul's order, the large-caliber naval guns on several British sailing battleships opened fire.

Thick smoke filled the air, and several shells were fired at the Tang army warships on the river.

Since the two sides were far apart at that time, the shells failed to hit the target and only created a few columns of water on the surface of the river.

As the waves surged, the Tang army's warships shook constantly.

But the damage is limited after all!
boom! Boom boom!

The Tang army's artillery also began to fire back.

Of course, it was not the Tang army warships that were firing.

With the tonnage of the Tang army's warships, they could not withstand the recoil of heavy artillery fire.

However, the range of small and light artillery is not enough.

The artillery that opened fire this time was the coastal artillery deployed by the Tang army on the banks of the Yangtze River.

Since Li Yi realized that the Tang army might be blocked from the river by the Qing-British joint fleet during its attack on Jiangning, he would naturally not fail to take precautions.

The Tang army's small boats could not withstand the recoil of heavy artillery fire, but they could transport the heavy artillery to the front line relatively easily.

Then, do you want to know about the coastal defense artillery?
Although it was a temporary position built overnight and the defensive fortifications were not perfect, it would certainly not be a problem to launch fire on the river surface.

Well, the average width of the Yangtze River in Nanjing is only about one thousand meters.

Moreover, it would be impossible for the Qing-British joint fleet to sail close to the north bank of the Yangtze River, but rather to sail in the middle of the river.

In other words, the required firing distance for coastal defense artillery is only a few hundred meters at most.

The Tang army set up cannons on the banks of the Yangtze River. Even the old smoothbore cannons were enough to block the entire river.

When coastal defense guns and naval guns are fighting each other, as long as there is no essential difference in the quality and performance of the artillery between the two sides, the coastal defense guns will definitely have the upper hand.

No matter how sloppy the fortifications of the coastal defense batteries were, they were still coastal defense fortifications.

It is different from the planking of a wooden ship.

No matter how strong and durable the ship's planks are, they are certainly not as strong as sandbags filled with sand, right?
Therefore, during the Opium War, the Qing army's artillery could actually be suppressed by British naval guns, which shows how weak the Qing army was.

What if the Qing-British joint fleet did not enter the firing range of the Tang army’s artillery?
If you don't want to come in, then don't come in.

The main purpose of the Tang army's eastward expedition was to capture Jiangning City and completely annihilate the main force of the Qing army in Jiangnan.

Instead of engaging in a naval battle with the Qing-British joint fleet.

As time goes on, it’s not the Tang Dynasty that will be anxious!

The temporary coastal defense artillery deployed by the Tang army began test firing.

Amid the booming sound of artillery fire, several shells cut through the air and headed straight for the Qing-British joint fleet on the river.

The test firing was at a moving target, so the Tang army's artillery naturally failed to hit the target.

It just created waves on the river.

The Qing-British joint fleet on the river had naturally already noticed the Tang army's artillery positions on the shore.

Know the danger.

However, the precarious situation of Jiangning City made them dare not hesitate.

They must defeat or even annihilate the Tang navy before Jiangning City is captured in order to have a chance to save the situation in Jiangning.

Otherwise, Jiangning will definitely fall.

boom! Boom boom!

After completing the test firing, the Tang army's coastal defense artillery quickly launched a second round of artillery fire.

The air was filled with smoke and shells were flying.

A thirty-pound shell hit the side of the Maria.

With a loud bang, a big hole was blasted on the side of the Maria, and wood chips flew everywhere.

Through the dark hole, you can see the foreign sailors in the cabin busy trying to repair the holes in the hull.

Boom boom!

Several more shells were fired.

An explosive bomb fired from a breech-loading rifled cannon hit a Qing army sampan on the river.

Amid the explosion, the Qing army's sampan was blown to pieces, with broken wood pieces and limbs flying everywhere.

The blood spread on the surface of the river!
The artillery on the British and Qing ships also began to fire back, and the two sides exchanged fierce fire.

For a moment, the surface of the Yangtze River was covered with diffuse smoke.

It seemed as if the only sound between heaven and earth was the rumbling of artillery fire.

(End of this chapter)