There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 294 Two Hundred Han Traitors
The next day.

The Qing generals, after a night of deliberation, were still unable to come up with a feasible plan.

The only capable general, Tian Yongyi, the commander of Suzhou and Songjiang, had already been scapegoated. The only Qing generals left who could speak up were Chen Anbang, the commander of Langshan, and Wang Bing, the governor of Jiangnan.

General Ailonga of Xuzhou was busy guarding the Yellow and Huai Rivers, watching over the canal transport, and preventing the canal transport from being threatened by the White Lotus cult.

The Viceroy of Liangjiang, Li Fenghan, coughed with his mouth covered the whole time, and even fainted twice in the middle, which almost made the Qing generals have a nervous breakdown.

The governor could no longer be relied upon, and Wang Bing and Chen Anbang were equally hesitant to make a decision.

How are they supposed to make a decision?

If we were to fight, we would definitely lose. The morale of the three armies is low, and the navy is almost wiped out. Charging forward would just be sending our own people to their deaths.

If we don't fight, they're like caged beasts. The Han traitors are already preparing to launch an attack, and they still won't fight. Are they just waiting to die?

In reality, the Qing army had another retreat route: they could simply abandon Hukou and half of Pengze. Then they could retreat north along the Yangtze River to Anhui, or go directly south to Raozhou to outflank the Han army. At the very least, they could retreat to Zhejiang through the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Corridor.

It's better to avoid being surrounded by the Han army and suffering total annihilation no matter what.

However, nobody dared to!

Losing Hukou and Pengze is not just about losing two counties.

This was tantamount to handing over the entire territory of Jiujiang, which was a transportation hub connecting seven provinces. Losing the entire territory of Jiujiang was roughly equivalent to the Qing army losing control of most of the Yangtze River.

Next, the Han navy could use this to advance deep into Anqing, or even directly attack Jiangning (Nanjing).

Let alone Jiangning, if Anqing were to fall, the entire situation in the south would change.

At that time, the world will be shaken, and the Emperor Emeritus's wrath will be something that none of them can withstand.

It should be noted that Li Fenghan has not yet dared to submit a written report of the actual battles in the south to Beijing.

Therefore, Li Fenghan specifically consulted with Wang Bing in advance, instructing him to write memorials, but to use subtle and euphemistic language to write in a way that was as favorable to himself as possible.

Anyway, by the time the war reports were finally presented to Heshen at the Grand Council, they had all become like this.

Li Fenghan (Wang Bing): "Our army fought a fierce battle with the Han bandits in Jiangxi. The Han bandits were really fierce. Although our army won a small victory, the bandits were stubborn and unyielding, and we were never able to achieve a complete victory..."

Yes, the fierce battle was real, and the Han traitors were indeed ferocious, but the Qing army's minor victory... can also be considered real.

In the first wave of battle between the Han army and the Qing army, weren't the wooden rafts that the Han army had set up at Hukou burned down by the Qing army?

Li Fenghan naturally regarded this as a minor victory. His subsequent attempts to cross the river but failed were deliberately downplayed by Li Fenghan, and the casualties were ignored.

Anyway, not many Green Camp soldiers died. The real casualties were the local militia and laborers. Even the Green Camp soldiers who died were artistically embellished by Li Fenghan.

If a cavalryman dies in battle, it is said that an infantryman died; if an infantryman dies in battle, it is said that a garrison soldier died; and if a garrison soldier dies in battle, it is said that a soldier died.

Yu Ding died in battle. There was no Yu Ding. Yu Ding was roughly equivalent to a common laborer or village militia. Common laborers and village militia are also considered human beings.
Anyway, the pressure was pushed down level by level, and in the end, even though there were tens of thousands of casualties, it was somehow reduced to a few hundred.

Li Fenghan also wrote very well about the Qing army's gains, saying that they had captured thousands or tens of thousands of soldiers, but never gave a specific number. He also said that the Han traitors had been contained and that their annihilation was just around the corner.

Heshen served as a Grand Councilor for decades; could he have seen through the shady dealings?

That's obviously obvious, but at most he thought Li Fenghan was exaggerating the battle results, which meant there had to be actual results.

The Han traitors were indeed pinned down in Jiangxi by Li Fenghan. They never imagined that Li Fenghan had achieved no results at all, and was simply being beaten head-on by Yang Fang. Even after suffering defeats, he was still trying his best to smooth things over.

He even sent his family members in Beijing to deliver gifts to Heshen and the Grand Secretary, asking them to speak well of him to the Emperor Emeritus.

Thus, even now, the Manchu nobles in Beijing, including Heshen, are still not quite clear about the state of the fighting in Jiangxi.
But it doesn't matter, they'll find out soon enough.

"boom!"

A huge cannon shot rang out, fired across the mouth of the Bali River.

The once quiet Qing army camp instantly erupted into chaos.

Li Fenghan, who was seriously ill and needed rest, was awakened by the sound of cannons and noise. He coughed and shouted, "Cough cough... What... What's going on? Someone come here... cough cough!"

Immediately, personal guards and attendants rushed in and helped Li Fenghan up: "My lord, the Han traitors! The Han traitors are attacking!"

Ignoring his own illness, Li Fenghan quickly had his attendants help him up. He then left the command tent wearing only a single garment, where a row of warships came into view across the river.

Inside the Qing army camp, there was no great chaos as expected; the soldiers were simply jolted awake and panicked.

Chen Anbang and Wang Bing have each dispatched their personal guards from the garrison and the command post to quell the chaos in the camps and to order their Qing troops to quickly assemble and form ranks in preparation for battle.

Upon seeing this, Li Fenghan immediately retreated to Commander Zhang.

Before long, he changed back into his governor's robes, strode to a high point in the camp, and had his personal guards raise his governor's banner.

Li Fenghan, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, was different from other officials of the puppet Qing dynasty. He was a genuine member of the Han Eight Banners and came from a family of staunch traitors with shady roots.

When the governor's banner was raised, Chen Anbang and Wang Bing both breathed a sigh of relief, and then quickly ordered their personal guards to shout.

"The governor is here!"

"Quickly engage the enemy and kill them! The Governor is still watching us!"

After a lot of fuss, the chaos was finally brought under control.

Meanwhile, the wharf on the north bank of Hukou had been largely taken over by the Han navy.

Wang Bing and Chen Anbang were not worried or panicked. They had already lost their navy and had no good way to deal with the advance of the Han traitor's navy.

"Report!"

"A large number of Han traitor ships were spotted crossing the river from the west bank watchtower."

The Han traitors crossed the river so quickly!
Now that the Han traitors have crossed the river, there's nothing more to say. Let's prepare to meet the enemy!
Wang Bing had no more capable generals under his command, so he had no choice but to personally lead his army to attack the west bank.

The main force of the Qing army had just arrived at the west bank dock.

"boom!"

A huge cannon shot rang out, fired across the riverbank.

Wang Bing merely sneered, waving his hand and shouting to the panicked Qing soldiers, "Don't be afraid! We're on the other side of the river. At this distance, even if the Han traitors have cannons, they can't hit us!"

“What the general says is true.” Chen Anbang quickly bowed and flattered the horse.

then……

No sooner had they finished speaking than a dark shell slammed into the mudflats not far in front of them.

The shell, larger than a head, bounced a few times before sinking into the mud and becoming immobile.

This scene left the Qing army dumbfounded, as well as Wang Bing and Chen Anbang.

The two looked at each other, confirming that they were not mistaken.

The two sides of the lake are about six miles apart. How could the Han traitors' cannons really hit them?

Where did the cannons of the Han traitors come from?
They were of no particular origin; they were just three giant siege cannons that had just been transported from Jingzhou, or you could say an enhanced version of the "68-pound" heavy cannon.

Its primary use is to bombard thick city walls that cannot be breached by heavy fire. Its maximum range is 4 kilometers, covering an area of ​​more than 8 li (approximately 4 kilometers).

Of course, once you reach this range, you can't really expect any accuracy.

If the Han army artillerymen could fire their shells onto the land on the opposite bank of the river, it was considered that they were quite accurate.

The Han army knew about their artillery, but the Qing army did not!
The Qing army only knew that no sooner had they finished speaking than a cannonball landed right in front of them, even though the Han traitors' cannons couldn't reach them.

The shells were bigger than their heads, and when they hit the muddy beach, they created huge craters.

If this happened to a person, they would probably be smashed into mincemeat on the spot.

"Keep firing!" "Fire with both cannons and heavy artillery. Don't be stingy with ammunition. If we can't take down this Qing army, saving more ammunition won't help."

Yang Fang put down her binoculars and gave orders to the artillery battalion.

Upon receiving orders, the artillery battalion quickly adjusted the cannons, firing them before the Qing troops on the opposite bank of the lake could even see them clearly.

"Boom boom boom!"

Amidst the deafening and rapid sounds of artillery fire, Yang Fang couldn't help but cover her ears.

Dozens of cannons and three giant heavy cannons fired together at the opposite bank of the lake.

In reality, only three giant heavy cannons could actually hit the target; the other dozens of cannons were just for show, as the shells would fall into the river halfway through their flight.

But these things fell into the eyes of the Qing army, and they dared not underestimate them. They really thought that all the cannons of the Han army could shoot that far.

Chen Anbang exclaimed in alarm, "General, the Han traitors' cannons are extraordinary; they're firing too far. Our army can hardly withstand them. It would be best to temporarily avoid their sharp edge!"

"But……"

Upon hearing this, Wang Bing hesitated instinctively, but before he could hesitate for even two seconds, a huge cannonball suddenly landed in front of the army formation.

One unfortunate Qing soldier was instantly smashed into a bloody pulp by a cannonball. The cannonball bounced and rolled in front of the army, killing and injuring several more Qing soldiers who were unable to dodge in time.

This immediately threw the Qing army's front ranks into chaos.

Wang Bing was instantly terrified. He immediately dispatched his troops to suppress the situation while simultaneously ordering his army to retreat.

Good heavens, the battle hasn't even started yet, the Han army is still crossing the river, and the Qing army has already suffered a rout.

It seems outrageous, but it is actually quite reasonable.

As Sun Tzu said long ago, the best strategy in warfare is to win hearts and minds!

Throughout the campaign, the Han army's primary objective was to wear down the morale and fighting spirit of the Qing army. This resulted in several disastrous defeats in the crossing battles, with heavy losses of soldiers and generals, in addition to the annihilation of the Qing navy.

The morale of the Qing army had been almost completely depleted. Even within the Qing army camps, absurd rumors circulated that "the Han traitors are invincible if they number less than ten thousand, but if they number ten thousand, they are invincible."

Although the rumors were quickly suppressed by Li Fenghan, Wang Bing and others, the fact that they could spread silently already indicated that the Qing army was incapable of fighting.

Wang Bing and Chen Anbang led their troops in haste, but now they are retreating in a panic. Not only have their own troops been thrown into chaos, but they have also given the Han army ample time to cross the river.

After the Qing army retreated to a "safe" distance, they finally managed to reorganize their chaotic formation.

The vanguard of the Han army has successfully landed.

The first group of Han troops to land numbered only a few hundred.

But among these 200-plus Han soldiers, there were more than 100 riflemen, as well as several mortar operators and rocket launcher operators.

Mortars are not that complicated to operate; they can be used by just two gunners. Rockets and rifled guns can be operated by just one person.

"Sound the bugle, kill the traitors!"

Upon seeing the Han soldiers landing, Wang Bing forced himself to calm down and issued military orders to his generals.

Military bugles weren't unique to the Han army; the Qing army naturally had them too.

"Woooooo~~~"

"Kill the traitors!"

The Qing army buglers sounded the charge, and a centurion in charge of the vanguard attack had no choice but to lead his troops into battle.

"The Qing dogs are coming! Let them taste the power of rockets and exploding shells!"

Seeing this, the commander of the Han army smiled and waved his hand.

Several mortars were quickly set up, and then another gunner responsible for loading the shells put in the explosive shells.

Ignition, firing—all done in one smooth motion.

The rocket launcher situation was even simpler: light the fuse, aim at the advancing Qing troops, and fire a single shot.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Bang bang bang!"

A violent explosion rang out; the combined power of the rocket and the exploding shells was far beyond what the Qing army's flesh and blood could withstand.

After a wave of bombing, a large portion of the Qing army was wiped out!
A rough count suggests that at least several dozen Qing soldiers died.

Even so, it was only because the Qing troops were too scattered and the Han army's exploding shells and rockets were too dense; otherwise, the kill radius could have been even greater.

The Qing army was terrified; the more ferocious they came, the faster they retreated.

Wang Bing was furious upon seeing this: "The supervisory team, step forward! None of you are allowed to flee! Anyone who dares to desert will be killed without mercy!"

No wonder he was angry. They hadn't even encountered the Han traitors yet, but they were blown back by the Han traitors' firearms. How could they fight a war like that?

Under the threat of the Qing army's executioners' swords, the routed soldiers quickly turned back, crying and shouting as they continued to charge back to the mudflat positions occupied by the Han army.

"preparation!"

"Aim and fire!"

"Bang bang bang!"

The Han army's rifled muskets were aimed at the charging Qing soldiers, and they opened fire without mercy.

A volley of bullets rained down, and a large number of Qing soldiers fell on the spot.

Then came the second and third rounds, three rounds of attacks, instantly killing or wounding more than eighty Qing soldiers.

Adding to the Qing soldiers killed by mortars and rockets, the casualty rate had already exceeded 10%.

The reason the Qing army did not collapse was not because of high morale, but simply because the noise from rifled guns was not as loud as that from mortars and rockets.

Many Qing soldiers had no idea that so many of their men had died in just a few minutes.

The Han army captain, however, didn't care at all. He drew his sword and shouted, "Brothers, let's kill them together!"

"kill!"

A few dozen Han infantrymen, armed with spears, swords, and shields, formed a makeshift "Mandarin Duck Formation" and dared to charge against a Qing army of over a thousand men.

Nobody thought there was anything wrong with it.

Behind them, the Han army's rifled muskets fired another three-volley volley, then they inserted bayonets and automatically transformed into spearmen, following the front-line Mandarin Duck Formation.

Two hundred men against one thousand men—such a huge disparity in troop strength.

However, the Qing army was forced to fight, and their morale was already low.

The Han army had won a series of great victories and was in high spirits.

In a narrow encounter, the brave prevail. As soon as the battle began, the Qing army was already in complete defeat.

The gap in combat strength and morale was too great; the Han army fought too fiercely, and the Qing army was completely unable to resist.

In just a quarter of an hour, this Han Chinese vanguard force of no more than two hundred men routed a Qing army of one thousand.

The Qing army of a thousand men did have an advantage, but it was impossible for all of them to fight against the Han army. The real deciding factor in the battle was only the few dozen men in the front ranks.

If these few dozen men collapse, it will trigger the collapse of the entire army.

(End of this chapter)