Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 300: Battle of Julu 2.0
Shi Dakai nodded and continued.

"very good!"

"All units, mobilize immediately!"

……

As time passed, the situation on the Zhili battlefield changed rapidly.

Just as Yi led his troops to march towards Baoding Prefecture, the Taiping Army led by Shi Xiangzhen also successfully intercepted the Shandong Qing Army advancing from Shandong to Baoding Prefecture.

A skirmish broke out between the two sides in the Hejian Prefecture area.

After a not-so-fierce battle, the Qing army in Shandong collapsed across the board and was chased by the Taiping Army for dozens of miles, almost being wiped out.

The reason why the Qing army was defeated so easily is very simple.

As early as last year, the elite Qing troops in Shandong were transferred south to Jiangnan to fight Hong Xiuquan, and were then defeated by Tang's army.

It was normal for these remaining mobs to be defeated in the first battle when they encountered the aggressive Taiping Army.

Yi had just arrived in Baoding Prefecture when he was stunned by the tragic news of the Qing army's defeat in Shandong.

"Before the battle officially started, our Qing Dynasty has already lost a large army. This is a very bad omen!"

"I hope the emperor will withdraw his order to lead the army in person and retreat to the capital to wait for reinforcements."

Shengbao said with some worry.

He tried to persuade Yi to withdraw his troops and return to the capital to defend the capital.

Nerjing'e, Wenxiang and others on the side also spoke up in agreement.

"Yes, Your Majesty, withdraw your troops!"

"The battle is fierce and dangerous on the front line. Your Majesty is worth a fortune. How can you easily go to such a dangerous place?"

"..."

Yi frowned and said in a cold voice.

"Okay, stop talking."

"I have made up my mind!"

"Anyone who dares to talk about withdrawing troops will be killed immediately!"

Yi's attitude was very firm.

Because he has no choice!
Faced with the aggressive Taiping rebels, the morale of the Qing army was already very low.

The reason why they were able to muster up the courage to fight was entirely because of the morale boost brought by the emperor Yi personally leading the army.

Once he, the emperor, took the lead in fleeing from the front line, the Qing army would probably collapse without having to wait for the Taiping Army to attack.

In other words, Yi has actually been put on a pedestal now.

Unless he wanted the Qing army under his command to collapse completely, he could not retreat.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the Grand Council had no choice but to agree.

Yi thought for a while and ordered the reinforcements from Shanxi to speed up their march and rush to Baoding as soon as possible to prepare to fight against the invading Taiping rebels.

Time continued to pass, and in just three days, reinforcements from Shanxi arrived in Baoding.

Yi immediately ordered the Qing army to rest and then prepare to march south.

At the same time, Shi Dakai also received news that the Qing army from Shanxi had successfully arrived in Baoding Prefecture.

After much consideration, Shi Dakai immediately ordered his troops to march north and launch an offensive against the Qing army in the direction of Baoding.

Shi Dakai made up his mind that he must win the battle this time, recapture the capital, and spread his reputation.

Soon, the Qing army also received news that the Taiping Army had taken the initiative to move north.

Yi ordered all units of the Qing army to prepare for war, and then attacked, sending a mighty force southward to prepare for a field battle with the Taiping Army.

Today's Yi needs more than just simply repelling the enemy.

But it's a victory!
He needed a victory to restore the Qing army's low morale and help himself secure the throne.

Therefore, when facing the Taiping Army, he could not hide in the city and passively fight, but had to take the initiative to attack.

This is his only choice!

It was also the Battle of Jiangning, the only chance for the Qing court to turn the tables after its main force was completely wiped out by the Tang army.

If this battle could be won, the Qing Dynasty might be able to continue for a few more years.

If they were defeated, the Qing Dynasty would be destroyed immediately and the dead would have no place to be buried.

As both sides began to advance, the atmosphere of war became increasingly intense, and the entire Zhili was shrouded in the shadow of war.

Everyone understands that the war is about to begin!

……

Julu!

On the banks of Fuyang River!

The Qing army and the Taiping army lined up to face each other.

The white clouds floating in the sky were blown away by the wind, and the scorching sun shone directly on the earth.

As the flags fluttered, the sound of war drums rang out between heaven and earth.

On this ancient battlefield where the Qin army and the Chu army fought a life-and-death duel at the end of the Qin Dynasty, the two armies once again deployed their battle formations, preparing for a life-and-death battle.

Yi was riding on horseback, gazing at the Taiping Army formation in the distance, his face couldn't help but look a little solemn.

He turned and asked a foreigner standing beside him.

"Colonel Walker, how do you think the Qing Dynasty should fight the next battle?"

The foreigner was named Walker and was a colonel in the British Army.

His identity was one of the new army consultants hired by Yi from foreigners in order to train the Eight Banners New Army.

The recruitment, training, and armament of the Eight Banners New Army were all completed with the assistance of a British officer named Walker.

Yi was unsure about this decisive battle with the Taiping Army, so he ordered Walker to join the battle.

So that he can ask for advice from time to time.

Walker heard this, hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

"Your Majesty, according to the current intelligence, the enemy we are facing is an army that mainly uses cold weapons and is supplemented by firearms."

"Facing such an enemy, if the Qing wants to win the battle, the simplest and most effective way is to bring our firepower advantage into play..."

Although Shi Dakai's Taiping Army was equipped with firearms, the number was not large.

The reason for this is that Shi Dakai had been constantly moving between Henan, Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces in recent years. It was not until the second half of last year that he captured Xi'an, and thus had a stable base.

Such a short period of time was not enough for Shi Dakai to establish a complete weapons production system.

Therefore, the main source of weapons and equipment for the Taiping Army was still captured and purchased from the Tang Dynasty.

Needless to say, everyone knows the quality of the Qing Dynasty's firearms.

Although Shi Dakai was able to seize a certain amount of firearms from the Qing army, whether he dared to use them was another matter.

As for the Tang Dynasty, the production capacity of the Tang army's arsenal was not sufficient, and it was not enough to supply its own army with equipment. Naturally, it was impossible to sell arms to Shi Dakai on a large scale.

Therefore, Shi Dakai's troops are still mainly equipped with cold weapons.

Although there are firearms, they are too few in number and can only play an auxiliary role.

After listening to Walker's explanation, Yi nodded slightly.

Walker continued.

"So, my suggestion is that we can deploy artillery positions on the low hill in the northeast of the battlefield for this battle."

"Then the troops deployed their formations around the artillery positions..."

Yi nodded, and immediately ordered someone to do it.

As the command flag was waved, a team of Shanxi Green Camp soldiers was dispatched to seize the low hill in the northeast of the battlefield.

Seeing this, the Taiping Army would naturally not let the Qing Army get what they wanted.

Shi Dakai waved his hand and ordered his troops to attack and fight for the low mountains and high ground.

"There is only one low hill on the battlefield today, which is suitable for setting up artillery to control the battlefield. The Qing army probably wants to set up artillery on the hill."

"We must not let the Qing army get what they want!" "Chen Yun, you will lead the troops yourself to fight for Aishan. If Aishan is lost, you will bring your head to me."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yun immediately clasped his fists and accepted the order.

With the command flag waving, the Taiping Army quickly attacked.

Soon, the Qing army engaged the Taiping army, and after a fierce battle, the Qing army was defeated.

Seeing this, Yi was angry, but he had no choice but to order more troops to fight for control of the high ground.

Although Shi Dakai did not have many firearms, he did have none.

Once Shi Dakai's troops seized control of the low mountains and highlands, they would also be able to set up artillery on the mountains to suppress the Qing army.

Afterwards, the fighting on the battlefield began to revolve around the battle for low mountains and highlands.

Both sides sent in wave after wave of troops.

Then, they retreated wave after wave, and then people were sent to take over.

As time passed, the fighting became more intense, and Yi sent the Eight Banners New Army around him to join the battle.

Shi Dakai also sent his old brothers from Guangxi.

Just as the two sides were fighting over the high ground, the fighting on the main battlefield also began.

Both sides began to send troops to advance towards the enemy formation.

boom! Boom boom!

On the battlefield, the sound of artillery fire rang out.

One shell after another flew across the battlefield and flew into the Taiping Army's formation.

The next moment, blood and broken bones splattered everywhere, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of blood.

The Taiping Army's artillery also fired back, but it was obvious that they were no match for the Qing Army.

Being suppressed so badly!

Amid the roar of artillery fire, the Taiping Army's casualties continued to rise rapidly.

The reason for this is that a considerable number of the Qing army's gunners were artillery instructors hired by Yixiang foreigners.

The second reason is that after the Qing government reopened the Jingshan Cannon Factory, it strictly enforced discipline.

Even so, the artillery produced by the Jingshan Artillery Factory could not compare with the artillery of the Tang Dynasty and foreigners, but compared with the previous quality, it was a great improvement.

Most of the artillery now used by the Taiping Army were captured from the Qing Army.

Although the Taiping Army selected the best artillery pieces after capturing them, the quality was actually just so-so.

Seeing that their artillery had successfully suppressed the Taiping Rebellion, the Qing army cheered.

In particular, the morale of the Eight Banners New Army was high. They carried muskets, formed neat arrays, and continued to advance under the command of foreign instructors.

Shi Dakai reached out and touched the mane of the warhorse under his crotch, calming its somewhat anxious mood caused by the artillery bombardment, and made arrangements in an orderly manner.

"Pass on our military order, ordering our troops to attack and harass the Qing army's artillery positions."

Shi Dakai knew that if it came to a competition of firearms, he would indeed be no match for the Qing army.

But it doesn’t matter. Compared with the Qing army, although he is at a disadvantage in firearms, he has advantages in other aspects.

Well, for example, cavalry!

Ever since he suffered a loss at the hands of the Qing cavalry in Henan, Shi Dakai began to compete with the cavalry.

Begin to pay great attention to cavalry!

Especially after conquering Shaanxi this time, Shi Dakai gathered a large number of Shaanxi men who were good at riding and shooting, and bought a lot of war horses with salt from the Mongols in the Hetao grassland outside the Great Wall.

Afterwards, Shi Dakai formed an elite cavalry.

When the Taiping Army marched eastward from Shaanxi to Henan, their cavalry made great contributions.

The battle situation on the Julu battlefield was not going well this time, and Shi Dakai made a decision immediately to send his own cavalry to attack.

He wanted to use his cavalry advantage to save the situation on the battlefield.

The war drums roared and the Taiping Army's cavalry moved.

They attacked with a loud bang, drew an arc on the battlefield, and rushed straight towards the Shanxi soldiers on the flank of the Qing army.

In war, the goal is to avoid the strong and attack the weak!
Since we know that the Shanxi Green Camp and militia are much larger than the Eight Banners New Army, we naturally have to catch them and attack them.

boom! Boom boom!

The shelling on the battlefield continued.

The Eight Banners New Army continued to advance.

As the distance got closer, the musketeers of the Eight Banners New Army even began to raise their guns and prepare to shoot.

"Everyone, guns to shoulders, ready to shoot!"

Seeing the Taiping cavalry attacking their flank, Yi quickly made a decision and ordered the Qing cavalry to attack and fight against the Taiping cavalry.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard, and the smoke and dust raised by the galloping horses on the battlefield continued to spread.

The two cavalrymen collided head-on and began a fierce clash, exchanging their lives for each other.

"Kill! Kill the Tatars!"

"Kill the bandits and protect the country. Long live the Qing Dynasty!"

"..."

Logically speaking, cavalry hedging is not a wise choice. Whether it is roaming horse archery or kite flying, they are more suitable than direct hedging.

However, the current battlefield situation is that the Qing army has the upper hand in artillery, and the Taiping Army is severely suppressed on the front battlefield.

Shi Dakai needed his own cavalry to attack the Qing army's flanks, thereby forcing the Qing army to reinforce their flanks and reduce the pressure on the front battlefield.

The Qing cavalry needed to protect their flanks to buy time for using artillery to defeat the Taiping Army on the front battlefield.

Therefore, neither side has the possibility of roaming around or riding and shooting, and can only charge!

The only way to break the deadlock on the battlefield is to resort to this most clumsy, life-for-life tactic.

The next moment, the Qing cavalry and the Taiping cavalry collided head-on.

The saber is shiny!

Along with the sound of horse hooves and shouts of killing, there was also the extremely clear sound of bones breaking.

As the war horses collided, the soldier in the front was knocked to the ground along with his horse.

Under the trampling of countless horses' hooves, both man and horse were turned into meat paste.

Some people were even thrown out and broke their necks.

The two sides collided with each other, leaving behind only a field of blood, corpses, and broken limbs.

Both sides gathered their cavalry, reorganized their formations, and then began the next round of confrontation.

Hedge, create distance, charge again, and create distance again!

The fighting on the battlefield was extremely bloody.

These Qing cavalrymen who came from the Eight Banners outside the Great Wall showed considerable resilience on the battlefield in order to save their Qing Dynasty.

However, the Taiping cavalry on the opposite side were not bad either.

You must know that Shi Dakai distributed land outside the city of Xi'an to the Taiping Army according to the land system of the Heavenly Kingdom.

These cavalrymen from northern Shaanxi were no exception.

These men, who grew up in northern Shaanxi and are afraid of poverty, are now extremely loyal to King Yi, who has allocated land to them outside the city of Xi'an.

As long as Shi Dakai does not give the order to retreat, they can fight until the last drop of blood is shed!

The two sides charged fiercely, round after round, and the battlefield was littered with the corpses of men and horses.

Such a bloody and cruel scene filled Walker, a British man, with shock and disbelief.

Are these Chinese people really from the same country and the same nation as those Chinese who were almost defeated at the hands of British artillery more than a decade ago?

This is really terrible!

……

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(End of this chapter)