There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 252 Fighting
Zhang Chengji distributed silver as an incentive, which greatly boosted the morale of the Qing army, and even their fear of the Han army inexplicably diminished.

With the command flags waved, the Qing army quickly mobilized, and tens of thousands of Qing soldiers rushed down the mountain in a swarm.

Liu Ding and Zhang Chengji's idea was simple: although they had left behind more than 10,000 local militia, the Qing army was still superior in strength. They had already figured out how many Han soldiers there were, which was no more than 3,000 at most.

With 10,000 men fighting 3,000, they have a numerical advantage of more than three times. They could overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers.

The Nanchang militia were the most eager to charge, because they were already digging trenches halfway up the mountain. When they heard the reward money and the order to charge, they ran down the mountain without thinking.

"Kill the traitors!"

"Kill the clear dog!"

The two sides shouted battle cries as the Han army's vanguard attacked the mountain, while the Qing army's Nanchang militia came down the mountain. The two forces quickly clashed.

The vanguard battalion of the Han army mobilized more than a thousand men, which was equivalent to one-third of the main force of the Han army. The vanguard battalion was entangled by the local militia in Nanchang, and the central army of the Han army was instantly exposed to the Qing army.

"Commander Lin, Commander Ma, surround and kill the Han traitor's central army!"

Seeing the weakened central army of the Han army, Liu Ding quickly seized the opportunity to issue military orders.

Zhang Chengji added, "If we win this battle, I will personally submit a memorial to the emperor requesting commendation for General Liu and the two captains!"

"Thank you, Commander!"

Liu Ding bowed, his tone still quite respectful.

After all, the other party was still the governor of Jiangxi. As long as he hadn't been dismissed by the emperor, he was someone that a mere general like him couldn't afford to offend.

The Qing army seized the opportunity and quickly launched a massive offensive, soon surrounding the Han army's central army.

Seeing the Qing army, which outnumbered him several times over, closing in, Yang Fang calmly had his personal guards put on his armor. He wore the Iron Pagoda armor bestowed upon him by the Prince of Han, and even wore a stab-proof vest underneath. He held a large, broad-bladed sword in his hand.

This horse-slaying sword is long and heavy, and when paired with the full armor of the Iron Pagoda, it is basically not something an ordinary person can wield.

Yang Fang was able to maneuver it, and her speed was not affected at all.

No wonder this guy couldn't pass the imperial examination. With that kind of talent and physique, he's a born warrior, not cut out for studying and taking the imperial examinations.

Yang Fang donned the Iron Pagoda armor and slashed diagonally at a Qing soldier who charged at her. The broad saber cleaved down, instantly cutting the Qing soldier and his armor in two.

With blood gushing out, the helmets of the Ironclad Warriors were stained red, making them look like demons crawling out of hell.

The surrounding Qing soldiers were terrified. Where did this killer come from? How could he be so strong?
Immediately, a fearless captain appeared and unexpectedly slashed down with his sword.

"when!"

The general's waist sword struck the armor plate of the Ironclad Pagoda, but not only did it fail to penetrate, the blade was chipped and chipped.

It's heavy armor?
The commander was stunned. Although the Green Standard Army did have armor, it was generally light iron armor. Heavy armor was too expensive, not only in terms of manufacturing but also in terms of the cost of putting soldiers in it.

Otherwise, if ordinary heavy armor were produced, soldiers would just lie down as soon as they put it on, and how could they fight a war?

While the Qing army officer was still in shock, Yang Fang suddenly turned around, drew his sword, and slashed at him.

That general reacted quickly, immediately raising his sword to parry.

"when!"

"Crack!"

The two swords clashed together. The Qing soldier captain felt a tremendous force, and then his sword broke in two. Yang Fang's horse-slaying sword continued its momentum.

"Pfft!"

As the Qing army commander's head flew into the air, he still had a look of astonishment in his eyes.

It was both Yang Fang's cleaver and Yang Fang's strength that surprised him, leaving him completely powerless to fight back.

Seeing that the captain was instantly killed, the surrounding Qing soldiers finally couldn't hold back any longer.

Yang Fang was already intimidating in his Iron Pagoda armor, and he was also carrying a long saber and a horse-slaying saber. No matter who came, he would kill them with one strike. Who would dare to challenge him?
The Qing army collapsed almost immediately. Yang Fang, as if he had not yet had enough, picked up his saber and wore his iron armor, and charged towards the other Qing soldiers like a god of war.

The Han army was originally surrounded by several times the number of Qing troops, but Yang Fang, alone with a sword and a suit of armor, managed to circle around and kill his way through the Qing army, causing them to collapse one after another.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Shhhhhh!"

In the center of the Qing army's position, crossbowmen and musketeers seized the opportunity and fired volleys at the surrounding Qing soldiers.

These Qing Green Standard Army soldiers were almost no different from those local militias; they fought the same way. When they besieged, they were just besieging; the Han army would simply set up the Mandarin Duck Formation and thrust their spears around randomly, and the Han soldiers wouldn't dare to charge.

Of the tens of thousands of Qing troops, it's uncertain whether even a thousand could actually participate in the battle; the majority of the Qing soldiers were on the periphery, doing nothing.

After half a day of fighting, the casualties on both sides were almost the same as those of the Qing soldiers that Yang Fang personally killed.

Another round of musket and crossbow fire ensued, and the more than 1,000 Qing soldiers in the front ranks who were engaged in battle immediately collapsed.

Looking down from his high vantage point, Liu Ding felt a chill run down his spine. He steeled himself and gave the order: "Anyone who deserts in the face of battle shall be executed! Personal guards, suppress them!"

With few supervisory teams left, Liu Ding simply dispatched his personal guards to oversee the battle and kill the enemy.

After killing dozens of people, the retreat was finally halted, forcing the fleeing Qing soldiers to turn back and continue fighting.

Seeing that the time was right, Yang Fang shouted, "Grenadier battalion, bomb! Musketeer battalion and crossbowman battalion, all of you, seize the opportunity and fire in three volleys!" The Han army's grenadier battalion had hardly experienced any actual combat so far, so they were either not needed or simply not useful.

There were very few large-scale battles that could truly get the grenadier battalions to engage in direct combat. Most of the time, the Han army was either besieging cities or accepting surrenders.

Of course, the Han army's grenadiers had participated in past battles, but only as infantry formations.

"Grenadier battalion, throw!"

The battalion commander of the grenade battalion, upon receiving the order, showed no hesitation. He took a grenade from his waist, pulled out the fuse, and threw it into the Qing soldiers' ranks.

The grenade battalion, consisting of several hundred men, threw several rounds of grenades, totaling over a hundred.

These grenades used sugar powder, making them very similar in power to modern grenades. They also had steel needles and iron pellets added inside, further enhancing their lethality.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Hundreds of grenades were thrown in alternations, but the timing of their explosions was almost identical, and their destructive power was terrifying.

The Han army spearmen in the front row simply bent down and hid behind the shields of the swordsmen and shieldmen.

"It hurts so much, it hurts so much, my leg is gone!"

"Help me, my stomach, my stomach is open!"

"Run! The rebels are using sorcery again!"

The Han army's muskets and crossbows had only enough time to fire a volley before the Qing soldiers, who had been hit by grenades at close range, could no longer hold on and desperately fled in all directions.

They dared not flee up the mountain, because the mountain was full of the general's supervisory teams, who would kill people.

Seeing this, Yang Fang was certain that the Qing army was doomed, and immediately shouted, "Soldiers, follow me and kill the Qing dogs!"

"Dudududuwuwuwuwu~~~~"

As the bugle sounded, the Han army abandoned its defensive formation and instead launched a full-scale attack on the mountain, joining forces with the vanguard battalion that had been engaged in combat.

Those Nanchang militiamen were quite clever; knowing they couldn't win, they all wanted to kneel down and surrender.

"We don't have time to capture you. Drop your weapons and retreat immediately, then head down the mountain!"

The Han army officer yelled at the surrendered villagers and then rudely stepped over them, ignoring them completely.

The local militia had wanted to leave for a long time, and when they saw that the Han army was not going to capture them, they all rushed down the mountain.

The local militia fled, and the Qing army's strength was drastically reduced to less than 10,000 men, thus losing its numerical advantage.

Liu Ding and Zhang Chengji wanted to make one last effort, so they sent up their last reserve battalion to protect themselves.

A Qing army of over a thousand men, originally sent as a fresh force to replenish their fighting strength, was instead routed by the Han army. The battalion commander leading the charge tried to escape, but Yang Fang caught up with him and killed him in three quick steps.

Liu Ding's last reserve battalion was also wiped out.

"Charge with me!"

Yang Fang laughed heartily. Her heavy armor was already stained red with blood, and some of the bloodstains had dried and turned black, making it even more terrifying and horrifying.

The main force of the Qing army had been broken through, but a considerable number of Qing soldiers, because they were in a relatively remote position, were still unaware of the situation and were blindly rushing forward to their deaths.

Liu Ding desperately gave orders, trying to gather the remaining troops and retreat, and ordered the buglers to blow the horns. However, the Qing soldiers below completely ignored him. They huddled together like sleepwalkers, constantly clashing and fighting the Han army head-on.

Despite being described as a fierce battle, the fighting lasted for most of the day, yet there were surprisingly few casualties.

They collapsed after only a couple of attacks, and the Qing army's strength dwindled with each battle, with routed and chaotic troops visible everywhere.

The Qing army's combat effectiveness was extremely poor. They could barely put up a fight against disorganized rebels and bandits, but against a real regular army, they were no different from rebels and bandits.

Zhang Chengji broke down and yelled, "General Liu, is this the kind of troops you command?"

Liu Ding was extremely annoyed and wanted to retort to Zhang Chengji, but before he could even open his mouth, he saw the Qing troops fighting halfway up the mountain suddenly collapse. Not only did they collapse, but they also dared not go up the mountain and instead cleared the way.

Yang Fang, clad in heavy armor and looking terrifying, led his troops up the mountain.

Liu Ding's expression changed instantly. He ignored Zhang Chengji's continued cursing, grabbed the governor, threw him onto his horse, and then mounted and fled.

The Qing army had few warhorses in Jiangnan, but as the General of Southern Jiangxi, this guy must have had horses to ride, and even several of his personal guards had horses to ride.

The general fled with the governor, and several of his personal guards quickly mounted their horses and followed, covering their general's escape.

With these two commanders gone, the Qing army was completely outmatched. Their banners and flags were thrown away, and the remaining Qing troops that were still resisting either collapsed and fled or simply knelt down and surrendered, begging for their lives.

Although Yang Fang fought his way through the Qing army, he was wearing heavy armor and carrying a large sword. It was already impressive that he could walk swiftly on his own two legs, but he certainly couldn't outrun a horse.

As for riding horses, his horses were of such poor quality that they couldn't support the weight of his heavy armor.

Yang Fang did not pursue them, but turned back to continue the encirclement and suppression of the remaining Qing troops, while coordinating with various armies to gather up the scattered remnants of the local militia.

The entire battle lasted less than half an hour, and Yang Fang didn't even break a sweat.

After the great battle, the next steps were to pursue the remaining enemy forces and settle the prisoners.

(End of this chapter)