Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 318 Nothing is a problem when it comes to stomach problems
Cai Bingwen's tactics were very passive, but this was also the only possible tactic that the Qing army could use to deal with the Tang army's offensive.

Just like the Ming army in the late Ming Dynasty, they were no match for the Qing army in field battles. So, they had no choice but to defend the city.

Upon hearing this, Shengbao and Nerjing'e looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.

In the end, it was Shengbao who spoke with a slightly hesitant tone.

"Master Cai is right."

"It's just that the mission the Emperor has given me is to recapture Tianjin."

"If we fail to recapture Tianjin and are even trapped in the camp by the Tang thieves and can only passively defend, once the news reaches the capital, I am afraid that the emperor will hold us accountable..."

Upon hearing this, Cai Bingwen waved his hand.

"Master Shengbao is wrong."

"The reason why the emperor wants us to recapture Tianjin is for the safety of the capital and so that the Qing Dynasty can safely implement its national policy of retreating to the border areas."

"So, whether we can recapture Tianjin is not the key point. The key point is whether we can prevent the Tang bandits from continuing to advance westward from Tianjin or even invade the capital."

"If we attack rashly and are badly defeated by the Tang bandits, so that they can march leisurely from Tianjin to the west into the capital, then it won't just be the emperor who will hold us accountable."

It is no secret that the Qing Dynasty is now retreating outside the Great Wall.

Up to now, the Qing Dynasty has transported hundreds of thousands of disaster victims from the disaster areas in Zhili and Shandong to reclaim wasteland outside the Great Wall.

And this number is still increasing.

It is naturally impossible to keep such a thing secret.

Court ministers like Cai Bingwen knew this very well.

When Shengbao heard this, his face changed for a while, but he finally nodded and said.

"Master Cai is right..."

……

Just as Cai Bingwen and others were speaking.

The Tang army also launched a tentative attack on the Qing army camp outside Tianjin city.

Boom! Boom!
The sound of shelling sounded.

Shells were fired at the Qing army camp.

The shell hit the ground and the fuse was triggered, causing a cloud of smoke and fire.

"Brothers, kill!"

"Kill the Tartars!"

"Drive out the Tartars and restore China!"

"..."

Under the cover of artillery fire, the Tang army soldiers used skirmish lines and charged forward in a mighty force.

The Qing soldiers hid behind the fortifications built in advance and fought back with guns and artillery.

For a while, bursts of gunfire were heard outside the city of Tianjin.

During the charge, Tang soldiers fell to the ground from time to time, but this did not affect the Tang army's offensive.

Amid shouts and cries of killing, the Tang army soldiers rushed all the way to the outside of the Qing army camp and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Qing army.

A Tang army soldier strode into the Qing army's trench, pulled the trigger of his gun and knocked down one person, then rushed forward quickly and stabbed a Qing army Green Camp soldier in front of him in the chest with his bayonet.

The Qing army's Green Camp soldier covered his chest and stumbled back several steps. Blood seeped from between his fingers, and he collapsed to the ground powerlessly.

The Tang soldiers showed no mercy or lingering thoughts, drew out their bloody bayonets and continued to charge forward.

When several Qing soldiers around saw this scene, some of them were so scared that they peed their pants, and the rest either fled or surrendered...

The Tang army successfully captured a line of defense of the Qing army and attacked the Qing army camp.

The Qing army retreated like a tide.

However, it did not collapse directly.

Because, at the beginning of the war, Cai Bingwen had already realized that the Qing army was no match for the Tang army and might not be able to stop the Tang army's offensive.

So, he made arrangements in advance.

That is to set up more defense lines and dig more trenches inside your own camp, and station troops to garrison them respectively.

After the first line of defense was lost, the soldiers on that line retreated, and while the Tang army was resting to consolidate its defense line, they withdrew to the rear to dig trenches and prepare a new line of defense.

The soldiers on the second line of defense are preparing for battle!
Once the second line of defense is breached, the soldiers on the second line will also retreat to build a new line of defense, leaving the battlefield to the third line of defense...

In other words, in Cai Bingwen's vision, he had to leave a way out.

We must ensure that even if our soldiers are defeated and retreat, they will have fortifications to protect them, so that they will not be completely routed.

In this way, even if the Qing army was defeated, it would have a chance to regroup.

Even if the Qing army suffered repeated defeats, or even collapsed at the first blow, it could at least delay the advance of the Tang army.

To put it bluntly, it means using fortifications to buy time.

After occupying a line of defense of the Qing army, the Tang army rested for a while and then continued to launch an offensive under the cover of artillery fire.

The Qing army collapsed at the first blow, but the Tang army did waste a lot of time in occupying the fortifications.

Soon after, the Tang army successfully took over the third and fourth lines of defense.

Although the Qing army was becoming easier to defeat and collapsed at the first blow, and many of them surrendered, it was still very difficult for them to occupy the fortifications and stabilize the front.

Before I knew it, a day had passed.

The red sun in the sky began to set gradually, and the visibility around became worse and worse. Seeing this, the Tang army had no choice but to suspend its offensive.

Upon seeing this, Cai Bingwen immediately ordered the Qing army to hang sheep and beat drums on the front line to provoke the enemy.

Then, he personally led the main force of the army and quickly retreated towards Wuqing.

After a day of fierce fighting, almost all of the defense lines he had set up in advance were broken.

If he doesn't withdraw now, the Tang army will continue its offensive at dawn tomorrow, and he won't be able to leave even if he wants to.

Cai Bingwen urged his horse to go faster, and Shengbao rode up to his side and asked.

"Master Cai, didn't you say that we should defend the camp and resist the Tang bandits' attack? Why are we retreating?" "If we retreat westward, what if the Tang bandits continue to attack?"

Cai Bingwen explained without turning his head.

"In today's battle, our army's camp outside Tianjin City was almost broken by the Tang thieves."

"If we don't retreat now, we will have no choice but to fight the Tang bandits in the wild."

"Our army can't even hold the camp against the Tang bandits, so we won't be defeated even faster in a field battle."

"What's the difference between holding on and waiting to die? We might as well retreat first, retreat to Wuqing, regroup, build fortifications, and plan to fight again."

Shengbao opened his mouth and wanted to raise an objection.

But I don’t know what to say…

Nerjing'e on the side spoke up to persuade him.

"Master Shengbao, I think what Master Cai said is correct."

"In a field battle, the Qing dynasty is no match for the Tang bandits. In this case, we have no choice but to defend the city."

After hearing this, Shengbao didn't say anything else.

He just flicked the whip, urging his horse to catch up with Cai Bingwen.

The Qing army evacuated along the official road. After they retreated to Wuqing, Cai Bingwen counted the troops and found that their own troops had suffered serious losses.

When he first led his troops to Tianjin, he had nearly 20,000 Green Camp soldiers under his command.

But now, the number of troops is only over 10,000.

Of course, this does not mean that the Tang army defeated 10,000 Qing troops in one day. More importantly, when the Qing army evacuated under the cover of darkness tonight, all the troops scattered.

When it gets light, if everyone gathers together again, I think some of them will be able to come back.

After counting the troops, Cai Bingwen immediately ordered the army to set up camp and begin building a new line of defense.

While his subordinates were building fortifications, Cai Bingwen summoned his generals to discuss matters.

"In today's battle, our army suffered heavy casualties."

"In order to prevent the Tang bandits from continuing to advance westward, I think we can ask the court for help and ask it to send more troops to Tianjin..."

Cai Bingwen spoke.

Although the Qing army suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Jiangning and the Battle of Julu, the main field forces were basically wiped out.

But the Qing army now actually has no shortage of manpower!

After the Yellow River broke its banks and changed its course, a large number of victims were found in Shandong, Zhili, Henan and other places.

In order to survive, many disaster victims fled in groups towards the capital.

Among these disaster victims, a considerable number were sent outside the Great Wall to open up wasteland.

But some of them were recruited by the Qing army to make up for the losses of the Green Camp and Eight Banners troops.

Although the Yellow River was blown up by the Qing Dynasty, the victims should have hated the Qing Dynasty for destroying their families and making them homeless.

But who can blame the Qing government for being the only one in Zhili that has the ability to provide food for these disaster victims?
When it comes to stomach problems, no matter how great the hatred is, it is not worth mentioning.

In other words, the Qing army is not short of manpower now.

To be precise, even if the Qing army was short of troops, what they lacked were elite soldiers who could fight and withstand heavy attacks, rather than ordinary soldiers and horses.

What Cai Bingwen needs is not elite troops.

He just wanted to gather people to build camps and dig trenches. He was not preparing for a decisive battle with the Tang army in the field, so why did he need elite troops?
Shengbao heard this and spoke.

"Master Cai is right."

"The casualties in our unit during the Battle of Tianjin were too great. We cannot do without replenishing the losses."

"How about this, I will personally go to the capital to ask the emperor for help."

Upon hearing this, Cai Bingwen immediately clasped his fists and said.

"In that case, I'll have to trouble Master Shengbao!"

Upon seeing this, Nerjing'e also spoke.

"In that case, I will stay in the army and assist Lord Cai in conducting the war."

Cai Bingwen also nodded.

……

"Captain, the Qing demon has escaped. Should we chase him?"

A communications soldier rode his horse up to Zhang Biao and asked for instructions.

Zhang Biao looked up at the pitch-black wilderness outside Tianjin City, pondered for a moment, and then made a decision.

"In today's battle, the Qing demons have lost their courage. Don't pursue them."

"We'll figure it out tomorrow morning."

It was now dark at night and visibility was poor. Zhang Biao could not tell whether the Qing army's retreat was a real one or an attempt to lure the enemy deeper into the territory.

It would be fine if they really retreated, but if they were to lure the enemy deep into their territory, wouldn’t it be exactly what the Tang army wanted to do by pursuing them?

If the pursuing Tang army was severely damaged in this ambush, it would not be so easy for the Tang army to defend Tianjin and threaten the capital.

So, to be on the safe side, he did not order the Tang army to pursue.

Upon hearing this, the communications soldier clasped his fists and left.

……

At dawn the next day, Shengbao set out from Wuqing and led his men towards the capital.

After arriving in the capital, Shengbao rushed to ask for a meeting with Yi.

There was heavy snow falling from the sky. The glazed tiles in the Forbidden City were covered with snow, and everything was white.

The eunuchs and palace maids each held a broom and swept the snow on the ground skillfully.

Seeing Shengbao walking by under the leadership of An Dehai, the eunuchs and palace maids all bowed and saluted.

(End of this chapter)