Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 302 Yi: For the sake of the Qing Dynasty, the people have to suffer!

boom! Boom boom!

The shelling continued.

One shell after another flew low over the Qing army's formations and artillery positions.

With the help of geographical advantages, the Taiping Army's artillery was finally able to reach the Qing Army's artillery positions.

Seeing this, the Qing army's artillery could only reduce the number of artillery pieces firing at the Taiping infantry and delivering firepower.

Adjust the firepower and use more artillery to fight against the Taiping Army's artillery.

Boom! Boom!
The two sides fired fiercely at each other.

Shells flew wildly, and bursts of humming sounds were heard on the battlefield.

This is the sound of a low-flying artillery shell breaking through the air.

"kill!"

"The Tartars are no longer viable. Brothers, follow me and kill them!"

"Kill the Qing monsters and live in peace!"

"..."

Shi Dakai personally led the team to charge, attempting to completely defeat the enemy in front of him in one go.

"Wan Sheng!"

"Wan Sheng!"

Shouts resounded throughout the battlefield, and the Taiping Army began to counterattack on all fronts.

As time passed, the Eight Banners New Army on several fronts began to become weak and fell into a disadvantage.

The reason is simple: the Taiping Army imposed too many negative buffs on the Qing Army in this battle.

First of all, the Shandong soldiers were annihilated before the war even started.

Secondly, the Qing cavalry was defeated and the Shanxi soldiers were defeated.

Soon after, the battle for the low hills and high ground failed, and the Taiping Army set up artillery on the low hills, narrowing the gap in artillery with the Qing Army.

After a fierce battle, the situation faced by the Qing army began to take a sharp turn for the worse.

Yi sent out the Plain Yellow Banner and the last of his reserve troops, but failed to regain control of Aishan.

At this time, the situation faced by the Qing army became worse.

The Taiping Army's cavalry made another breakthrough on the flank battlefield.

They chased the defeated Shanxi Green Camp, launched several rounds of attacks, and successfully defeated the reinforcements of the Bordered Yellow Banner that came to reinforce the flank.

And continued to rush towards the Qing army's center.

But the problem is that Yigang sent both the Bordered Yellow Banner and the Plain Yellow Banner to support the battlefield, and now the Qing army's central force is empty.

Faced with the aggressive Taiping cavalry, Yi was immediately panicked.

"Your Majesty, retreat!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, let's retreat. As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood!"

"..."

A number of Manchu military ministers were aware of the danger of the current war situation and kept suggesting that Yi lead his troops to retreat.

Given the current situation on the battlefield, if Yi does not retreat, he will be in real danger of being killed on the battlefield by the Taiping Army.

Even Walker, who has always been radical, made a suggestion.

"Your Majesty, retreat!"

"Given the current situation on the battlefield, retreat is the best option before us."

"It won't be wrong to retreat for now and preserve your strength."

"..."

There was a conflicted expression on Yi's face.

But the Taiping cavalry was getting closer and closer to him, so he finally gave the order.

"retreat!"

“But we can’t just withdraw.”

"We will first join the Yellow Banner, and then gather our troops, resist step by step, and retreat to Xinhe in an orderly manner."

Baoding was too far away, so Yi planned to retreat to Xinhe first to let the Qing army take a break before continuing his march.

"Oh, right, let the Green Camp soldiers cover the rear."

"Try your best to preserve the strength of our Qing Eight Banners New Army!"

Yi said in a somewhat dry voice.

If you ignore everything and just turn around and run away, that is not a retreat but a defeat.

Once one side is defeated on the battlefield, the result is self-evident.

Therefore, no matter how scared Yi was now, he couldn't just turn around and run away.

He had to arrange for the troops to provide alternating cover before they could retreat in an orderly manner.

Otherwise, even if he, the emperor, could successfully escape from the battlefield, the Eight Banners New Army that the Qing Dynasty relied on would be wiped out on the battlefield.

This is something that Yi and the Qing high-ranking officials absolutely do not want to see.

The situation on the battlefield continued to change.

The Qing army began to retreat, and the Taiping army began to pursue.

Although Yi tried his best to arrange the Qing army to resist, the Qing army's casualties continued to rise in the face of the Taiping Army's offensive.

……

Time passes and night gradually falls.

The Qing army withdrew from the battlefield under the cover of night, and the Taiping army did not dare to pursue them and began to clean up the battlefield.

The casualties of various Taiping Army units and the data on the gains of this battle were sent to Shi Dakai.

A smile appeared involuntarily on Shi Dakai's face.

Although Taiping suffered heavy casualties in this battle, winning is winning!

After this battle, the Taiping Army will be able to march directly to the capital and recreate Zhu Yuanzhang’s great feat of “expelling the Tartars and restoring China”, and the Qing army will most likely find it difficult to organize a strong resistance.

Shi Dakai laughed loudly and turned to give instructions to the soldiers around him.

"Pass the order down and reward the whole army generously."

"Let the soldiers eat and drink as much as they want. After they are full, we will attack the capital!"

"Take down the capital, and everyone will be rewarded handsomely!"

As soon as Shi Dakai finished speaking, cheers rose one after another among the Taiping Army.

"Long live! Long live!"

"Long live King Yi!"

"Long live the Kingdom of Heaven!"

"..."

On the other side, the Qing army retreated to Xinhe under the cover of night.

But they did not dare to stay in Xinhe for long. Instead, after a brief assembly and headcount, they continued to retreat northward overnight.

Only after they retreated all the way to Baoding did the Qing army dare to stop and rest.

Throughout the city of Baoding, dejected Qing troops could be seen everywhere, and the air was filled with the feeling that a disaster was impending and dark clouds were looming over the city.

Some members of the Eight Banners New Army even gathered together and cried bitterly.

When the Qing government formed the new Eight Banners Army, the soldiers were selected from the best and strongest Green Camp soldiers in various provinces.

These people originally thought that they had been selected into the Eight Banners, would receive sufficient food and wages, and would be allocated land outside the Great Wall, and that good days were coming.

Unexpectedly, their good days only lasted a few days before the Qing Dynasty was about to end.

The Qing army was defeated in the Battle of Julu, and the Taiping Army may attack the capital at any time. By then, the Qing Dynasty will be destroyed, and how can these new traitors have a good life?
In the Baoding government office, Yi summoned the Qing court's top officials to discuss matters.

"After the defeat at Julu, the Qing Dynasty had no choice but to retreat to Baoding."

"Next, the Taiping rebels may continue their advance and threaten the capital of the Qing Dynasty."

"Please tell me, my lords, how should the Qing Dynasty deal with the upcoming crisis?"

The Battle of Julu was lost and the Qing Dynasty was on the verge of collapse.

However, Yi was unwilling to accept his fate and wanted to fight again.

Shengbao, who was standing by, heard this and made a suggestion.

"Your Majesty, now that things have come to this, retreating to the capital and then issuing an edict to the whole nation to defend the king may be the only chance for our Great Qing."

When Yi heard this, his expression was obviously shaken.

But he finally spoke. "It's easy to retreat to the capital, but where can the Qing Dynasty get reinforcements?"

"The southern part of the Han territory has been occupied by the Tang bandits, and most of the northern part is owned by the Taiping rebels."

"Excluding the areas outside the Great Wall such as Liaodong, the Western Regions, the plateau, and the grasslands where we cannot send troops, the only areas that the Qing Dynasty can actually control are Shandong, Shanxi, and Zhili."

"But the Shandong troops have already been annihilated, and the Shanxi troops were almost completely wiped out today, not to mention Zhili."

"Even if I want to ask for help, where can the reinforcements come from?"

Yi is really desperate now.

Wen Xiang suggested.

"Your Majesty, why don't you abandon the capital and go back to guard the border."

Wenxiang thought that since the Qing Dynasty could no longer stay inside the Great Wall, it should withdraw outside the Great Wall and wait for the future.

Once the Taiping rebels occupied the capital, they would have to fight with the Tang bandits in the south. After the Taiping rebels and the Tang bandits had fought each other and both were defeated, the Qing would then send troops to enter the capital.

It may not be impossible to conquer the world!

As soon as Wenxiang said this, before Yi had a chance to speak, Nerjing'e spoke.

"Master Wenxiang is wrong."

"The land outside the Great Wall is now barren and wild. If the Qing Dynasty wants to leave the Great Wall, where will the money and food come from to maintain the court and the army's training and combat?"

"Even if the Qing Dynasty wants to retreat to the outer reaches of the Great Wall, we have to wait until the land outside the Great Wall is reclaimed."

Yi heard this and nodded.

“That’s right!”

"Even if we have to retreat outside the Great Wall, we can't do it now. We must hold on inside the Great Wall to buy time for the reclamation outside the Great Wall."

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look solemn.

The problem now is that they can't hold out for long.

Suddenly, Shengbao on the side spoke.

"Your Majesty, if you want to delay the advance of the Yan and Mao troops and buy time for the Qing Dynasty to open up the land outside the Great Wall, I have a plan that may work."

Upon hearing this, Yi seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw. He immediately turned his gaze to Shengbao and asked.

"What's your plan?"

"Go ahead!"

Shengbao took a deep breath and said with a serious expression.

"Today, the reason why the Taiping Rebellion can use its military force against the Qing Dynasty is entirely due to the Yellow River transporting food and military supplies for them."

"If the Qing Dynasty can cut off their food supply, we can certainly force the Taiping rebels to withdraw."

Yi couldn't help but frown when he heard this.

"How do you cut it off?"

The Qing army is no match for the Taiping Army in field battles, and it is not an easy task to cut off their food supply.

Upon hearing this, Shengbao spoke word by word.

"Blast! The Yellow River dike."

"Not only are the long-haired bandits transporting food from the Yellow River, their garrison at Damingfu is not far from the old Yellow River course."

"If the Qing Dynasty can blow up the northern dike of the Yellow River and cause it to burst northward, not only can we cut off the Taiping rebels' food supply, but we can also directly divert the Yellow River water to flood the Taiping rebels' army."

"If this can be accomplished, the Taiping rebels will definitely withdraw their troops."

"And they will certainly not be able to attack the Qing Dynasty again in the short term, so they can buy time for the Qing Dynasty to open up the land outside the Great Wall."

More importantly, once the Yellow River dike is blown up, it can directly cause millions or even tens of millions of victims.

Whether it is the Taiping Army or the Tang Army, if they want to continue moving north, these disaster victims will be their biggest obstacle.

As long as the other party still has some shame and does not abandon millions or tens of millions of disaster victims, the Qing Dynasty can use the victims as soldiers to stop the enemy from advancing northward.

While Shengbao was speaking, he walked to the map and pointed at it with his hand.

Describe for Yi and others the possible flow direction of the Yellow River after it was dug up...

Yi couldn't help but feel a little moved when he heard this, but he had to save face after all, so he said it in a pretentious manner.

"Is it too much to blow up the Yellow River levee?"

"If the Yellow River bursts its banks, countless people will lose their homes and become homeless!"

When Shengbao saw this, he immediately understood that Yi was moved and continued to increase his bet.

"Your Majesty, this may be the only way for our Qing Dynasty to repel the enemy at present."

"If we can't repel the enemy in this battle, our Qing Dynasty will be in danger. Right now, we can't care about so many things."

Yi still didn't agree, but just spoke.

“What about the victims?”

"I am the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the ruler of the world. How can I abandon the people?"

Wenxiang made a suggestion.

"Your Majesty, after the Yellow River bursts its banks, the imperial court may be able to take the victims out of the border and open up land outside the border."

"This way, we can provide resettlement for the disaster victims!"

The Qing Dynasty had already made up its mind to completely exploit the victims.

One of them was to blow up the Yellow River and cut off the Taiping Army’s food supply.

The second was to use the disaster victims to stop the Taiping Army and the Tang Army from moving north.

The third is to plunder the disaster victims out of the border and open up land for them.

In this process, whether the victims are willing or not, how many people will die?
Haha, my Qing Dynasty doesn’t care!
Upon hearing this, Yi opened his mouth, but finally nodded and spoke.

"Let's do as arranged! For the sake of the Qing Dynasty, the people on the north bank of the Yellow River will have to suffer."

"Leave this matter to Shengbao. Don't let me down!"

While speaking, Yi stared at Shengbao with burning eyes, as if he was saying.

Since you proposed the thing, you should do it!

Shengbao's expression was solemn, but he still stood up and clasped his fists and spoke.

"Slave, you obey!"

After saying this, Shengbao turned and left.

……

The weather in Henan is very hot in summer.

The big sun in the sky was scorching the earth, and heat waves were rolling on the ground.

A breeze blew by, bringing a bit of coolness between heaven and earth.

In the neatly divided wheat fields, golden waves of wheat are rolling.

Now is the season for harvesting winter wheat.

Huang Fengshou wore a thin coat, carried a sickle, and went to the fields barefoot.

A pair of calloused feet stepped on the soft soil, feeling the hot loess under his feet. He reached out and broke off a wheat ear, then put the full ear of wheat to his nose and sniffed it.

Smelling the aroma of wheat, Huang Fengshou's face was full of smiles.

"After years of locusts and drought, we finally have a good harvest this year."

Huang Sangou from the same village also said with a smile, his face full of longing.

"Yes, we finally have a good harvest this year."

"After I harvest the wheat and sell the grain this year, I should be able to pay back the money I owe to Master Zhang."

"When the time comes, I can use the remaining money to buy two feet of floral cloth and make two new sets of clothes for my wife."

Fantasizing about the days after the harvest, everyone's face was filled with smiles.

I started harvesting wheat with great anticipation.

With a series of crackling sounds, the sickle was swung, and the golden wheat was cut down, tied into bundles, and thrown beside the ridges of the field.

The farmers each held a sickle and started working.

The sun in the sky was still scorching, but the farmers were working with great enthusiasm.

However, just as these farmers were working hard, a faint rumbling sound of explosion was heard in the distance.

Huang Fengshou and others subconsciously looked in the direction where the sound came from, and everyone was talking about it.

"It seems like the noise came from the direction of the Yellow River embankment?"

"What happened? Was it thunder? Or was it an earthquake?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)