There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 266 Siege
Although Linjiang Prefecture was not large in territory, its strategic importance was almost equivalent to that of Nanchang and Ji'an Prefectures.

The poem describes the bustling commercial prosperity of Linjiang Prefecture, where merchants from Wu and Shu traveled in droves. It was historically known as a vital transportation hub, a place where people could travel in all directions.

During the Ming Dynasty, there were 33 major towns for industrial and commercial taxation across the country, and Linjiang Prefecture was one of them. At its peak, its commerce was so prosperous that "there were 3,000 households inside the city and 8,000 households outside the city".

Since its establishment as a town, Linjiang Prefecture has accumulated reserves of grain and provisions, making it a crucial location for stationing troops and storing provisions in Jiangxi, and a place that military strategists would fight over.

During the Taiping Rebellion, Linjiang Prefecture was captured three times, and the two sides repeatedly fought a tug-of-war for control of the prefecture.

Later, the Northern Expeditionary Army and the Red Army controlled Linjiang Prefecture on several occasions and established bases there to develop and accumulate revolutionary forces.

Linjiang Prefecture City.

Zhang Chengji had already climbed the city wall. Looking at the tens of thousands of Han soldiers who were setting up camp outside the city, he felt a chill run down his spine. He hurriedly asked Liu Ding, "General Liu, what exactly is going on? Didn't they say that the Han traitors had just captured Ji'an Prefecture? Why are they already at Linjiang, and what about Xingan and Xiajiang counties? Are they dead or have they surrendered?"

A barrage of questions left Liu Ding speechless. He had no idea what was going on; the Han traitors had suddenly besieged the city, with tens of thousands of their troops stationed outside.

It's only been a few days!
As for the situation in Xingan and Xiajiang counties, he knows without even guessing that it has already been reduced.

Otherwise, the Han traitors wouldn't have arrived so quickly. All the civil officials in these two counties deserve to be killed.

You could at least offer some symbolic resistance, buy him some time, or just surrender and let him know!

Liu Ding was still preparing to defend the city when suddenly the Han rebel army arrived, directly disrupting his original defensive plan.

Liu Ding thought for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, “General, please calm down. Although the Han rebels’ army is at the city gates, Linjiang Prefecture has high walls and thick walls. As long as we follow the pre-determined plan and defend the city, we are not entirely unable to fight.”

Hearing Liu Ding's words of comfort, Zhang Chengji realized that he had been a bit too out of line. He composed himself, cleared his throat, and continued, "I was just worried and confused. But the enemy army arrived suddenly, and Xiajiang and Xingan counties are probably doomed. Can Linjiang Prefecture really hold out?"

Even if we can't hold on, you shouldn't ask that!

Liu Ding was somewhat speechless, but still respectfully replied: "Linjiang Prefecture has ample funds and provisions, as well as 20,000 local militia and laborers. In open battle, it may be difficult to defeat the Han rebels, but defending the city should not be a big problem."

He paused, then his expression suddenly turned extremely serious: "Moreover, the Han rebels' hasty attack, though seemingly unstoppable, will inevitably strain their supply lines as they are crossing provincial borders. The governor should quickly dispatch messengers to order the troops of Ruizhou, Yuanzhou, and Fuzhou to cut off the Han rebels' supply lines while they are exhausted from their siege."

"With their supply lines cut off, no matter how fierce the Han rebels are, their army will be thrown into chaos!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengji's eyes lit up instantly, and he clapped his hands in praise: "What a brilliant plan!"

It is indeed a good strategy. As the saying goes, "An army marches on its stomach." In the end, war is nothing more than two words: logistics!

Whoever has better logistics will gain the initiative in the war, and may even win the war.

The Han army fought so hastily because of the pressure on its logistics and supplies.

The Han Dynasty may seem to be at its peak now, but it is like cooking oil over a raging fire, using the resources of the two provinces of Huguang to support tens of thousands of troops.

Even though Huguang was the granary of the country, the pressure was still immense. This was because every soldier in the Han army was a fully-fledged combat soldier, unlike the puppet Qing Green Standard Army.

The Ministry of Revenue of the Han Dynasty was arguably the most stressful group of officials in the entire bureaucratic system.

They were truly determined to squeeze money and grain from the Han Dynasty's coffers to support their army. The Ministry of Revenue had to carefully budget every penny of the Han Dynasty's money and grain, and even cooperate with the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate to investigate corruption.

Anyone who dares to embezzle even a single penny will be audited by officials of the Ministry of Revenue. If they don't expose your dirty secrets, then the officials of the Ministry of Revenue are being lenient.

Therefore, if Liu Ding's plan succeeds and the Qing army can cut off Chen Younian's supply lines, then Chen Younian might actually be defeated by the Qing army's combined attack from within and without.

This is actually what Nie Yu fears most. The territory of the Han Dynasty is too small, only two provinces, which is still too far behind the pseudo-Qing Dynasty.

If the Qing dynasty were to become reckless and mobilize the entire nation to attack the Han dynasty, even if they still couldn't defeat it, they could wear down the Han dynasty through attrition.

Don't think this is outrageous. In Nie Yu's impression, the pseudo-Qing dynasty, which used up the resources of China, should really be capable of doing this kind of lousy thing.

Zhang Chengji acted swiftly, writing several troop mobilization orders that very day, all bearing his seals as both governor and viceroy.

To avoid any mishaps, they simply found more than a dozen messengers, gave each of them two taels of silver, and sent them out of the city under cover of night to deliver the messages.

The next day, at the Han army camp.

Chen Younian is leading a large army to prepare for the attack on the city. He has brought a small force of less than 10,000 men. More than 6,000 of them are militiamen, mainly used as laborers to transport grain. However, he has already made contact with Yang Fang by telegram.

Liu Ding and Zhang Chengji in Linjiang Prefecture were still dreaming of cutting off the Han army's supply lines, completely unaware that Yang Fang in the north had just accomplished a major feat.

It took Yang Fang a full month or so, with the army, laborers, and civilians all working together, to finally clear the silt from the mouth of the Gan River.

Now, the Gan River and Poyang Lake can finally be connected again, and the Han army's naval warships that were patrolling on Poyang Lake can finally enter the Gan River from Poyang Lake.

The Qing army had no navy in Jiangxi, and even the Poyang Lake camp was full of land-based troops. If the Han army's navy entered the Gan River, then the Gan River would basically be the Han army's Gan River.

Jiangxi Province has a complex topography. It has a well-developed network of waterways, but the land is mountainous, with mountain ranges serving as natural boundaries for almost all prefectures and cities.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Gan River runs through Jiangxi Province, and whoever controls the Gan River will be invincible.

Zhang Chengji, the puppet Qing governor, had just finalized the plan to cut off the Han army's supply lines when it was stillborn.

Because Chen Younian's supply lines on the south bank of the Gan River could indeed be cut off, Yang Fang could still use the navy on the north bank to continue providing logistical support to Chen Younian, and even lead Chen Younian's army away from Linjiang Prefecture to attack Nanchang City together.

The first day of the siege. "Boom boom boom!"

Chen Younian immediately pulled out twenty red-coated cannons and unleashed a barrage of fire at the city walls of Linjiang Prefecture.

Zhang Chengji, the Jiangxi governor who was incompetent in warfare and somewhat cowardly, hurriedly fled down the city wall for refuge under the protection of his personal guards.

Liu Ding was extremely helpless, but he could only bite the bullet and command the defense: "Quickly, everyone hide behind the parapet immediately, and the river defense cannons, open fire!"

The guard reminded him, "General, the distance is too far. The cannons might not be able to hit the rebels!"

Liu Ding shouted: "We must fire even if we can't hit them! The morale of the troops must not waver!"

The personal guards immediately transformed into messengers, quickly heading to various artillery positions to relay Liu Ding's military orders.

As a major tax-paying town and a strategic stronghold in Jiangxi Province, Linjiang Prefecture City must have had cannons for river defense.

However, most of these river defense cannons are antiques from several decades ago, some even cast in the early years of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign. They have never been used in decades, let alone maintained.

There's nothing we can do about it; Jiangxi is just too comfortable, and the whole of Jiangnan is just too comfortable.

Of the five provinces south of the Yangtze River, Fujian probably has the most fierce and unyielding people.

Although Fujian is not a contested region by military forces, it was more peaceful than Jiangxi during times of chaos. However, while it may not be contested externally, it is prone to internal strife!

Fujian is a mountainous region with very little arable land, so the people are often very resourceful, as they cannot survive without it.

The majority of the fighting tax levied by the puppet Qing government came from the people of Fujian, and the remaining portion came from the people of Guangdong.

Because there are many Hakka people in Guangdong, the conflicts between the Hakka and Han people, as well as between the Yao and Han people, are very acute.

Liu Ding ordered the cannons to fire, but the local militia gunners hesitated to fire.

It wasn't that they didn't want to fire, but looking at the mottled rust marks on the cannon, the village gunners looked at each other, wondering whether this thing could even be used, let alone how to operate it.

It was truly outrageous that Zhang Chengji dared to entrust the entire city defense to Liu Ding, and Liu Ding dared to further entrust the city defense to the local militia.

These local militiamen knew nothing. Their daily routine consisted of simple meals and drills. They could only eat their fill during drills; otherwise, they were lucky to have a bowl of rice to eat.

A mob, a complete mob!

You think you can take this out to fight the Han army? Are you kidding me?
"boom!"

The local militia gunners didn't know how to fire cannons. Only after Liu Ding repeatedly urged them and even personally went over to teach them did they finally manage to fire one cannon.

Yes, one cannon fired, and then the Han army's cannons found their target, with all twenty cannons aimed at this river defense fort.

The Han army's artillery had not yet progressed to the stage of rifled cannons, but with twenty cannons firing densely, one or two shots were bound to hit the target.

The local militia gunners had barely learned how to use cannons when they had to face seasoned veterans of the Han army's artillery.

The Han army's cannon-casting technology was at least several decades ahead of the puppet Qing dynasty.

With such a large gap, the local militia artillerymen of Linjiang City were about to continue operating the cannons to fire.

"boom!"

A cannonball fired by the Han army hit the parapet of the fortress squarely, shattering the stone bricks and injuring two local militiamen who were unable to dodge in time.

After the shell smashed through the parapet, its kinetic energy remained undiminished, and it continued to bounce, killing another unfortunate villager. Then it rolled rapidly down the uneven road, breaking several more calves.

One shell hit, and the gun emplacement was completely destroyed.

Fortunately, the river defense forts were spaced far apart for safety reasons. The other forts were unaware of the situation, and the local militia gunners, having learned how to use the cannons, immediately opened fire on the Han army gunners.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

It was supposed to be a salvo, but the artillery fire was very chaotic, and the shells were even more scattered, with almost no aiming.

Despite the barrage of cannon fire, not a single shell hit the Han army's position.

It's still too far. Being on high ground is useless. We've reached the maximum range. Whether the shells hit or not is entirely up to fate.

After the Qing army finished firing their artillery, the Han army artillery followed up.

"Boom boom boom!"

The experienced Han artillerymen, operating red-coated cannons, had a range and power far exceeding that of the Qing army's river defense cannons.

With twenty cannons firing simultaneously, three more shots hit the fortress squarely.

One of the river defense cannons had its barrel completely flipped open, and was simply tilted upwards towards the sky. The Qing army gunners around the fort were already terrified and fled in all directions.

(End of this chapter)