There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 451 Feint
The White Lotus Rebellion's entry into Shaanxi was merely a strategic retreat for Liu Zhixie, a way to seize a new territory as the foundation for his claim to the throne.

However, when viewed from the perspective of the overall strategy of the Qing Dynasty, allowing the White Lotus Rebellion to enter Shaanxi was almost a devastating blow to the Qing.

Because the current Qing Dynasty has long lost control of most of the south, including the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, where war is still raging, all of which rely on Shaanxi as a passage between the north and south.

It is no exaggeration to say that if Shaanxi were to fall to the White Lotus Sect, or even if it failed to fall, it would only mean losing Xi'an Prefecture.

Therefore, the Manchu Qing dynasty's connection and control over southwestern Sichuan, the Western Regions, and Tibet via Shaanxi would be completely severed.

Let's not even talk about the Manchus and Outer Mongolia. The Manchus themselves knew what the situation in Outer Mongolia was like.

Although the Qing dynasty established the Uliastai Military Prefecture in Outer Mongolia, the number of Qing troops stationed in Uliastai decreased sharply with each generation.

During the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns, in order to deal with the powerful Dzungar Khanate, the Qing army stationed in Uliastai once numbered nearly 20000. However, after the Qianlong Emperor destroyed the Dzungars and reclaimed Xinjiang, the Qing army stationed in Uliastai was reduced to less than one-tenth of its original strength.

By the sixth year of the Jiaqing reign, the actual number of usable and usable troops stationed in Uliastai had dwindled to less than 1000.

At that time, Shaanxi was extremely depleted of troops, as all the Qing army forces capable of fighting had been taken to Sichuan by Governor-General Na Yancheng.

The White Lotus Sect evolved further in its battles against the Qing army, and was no longer the rabble it once was. After occupying new territories, they knew to distribute land to their followers and soldiers, and even reduced or exempted taxes for ordinary people, canceling previous loans and tax arrears with the government and landlords.

After several such maneuvers, the Han army saw it as a clumsy imitation. But in the eyes of the people under the White Lotus Sect's rule, this was no longer the White Lotus heresy, but rather a living Bodhisattva of the White Lotus Sect, saving them from suffering!

The White Lotus Sect only brought more than 8 followers to the main camp for the westward expedition, but the number of Luoyang laborers who followed them in the battle was as high as 3.

Moreover, Liu Zhixie's advisor, Liu Yanshan, was indeed quite capable, knowing to ensure that Liu Zhixie did not forget to spread his virtuous reputation along the way. While he wouldn't be completely compliant with the law, he at least refrained from plundering other valuables and women as long as the local gentry and landlords provided him with grain.

The White Lotus Sect stopped killing people indiscriminately, which was indeed absurd, but the local gentry and landlords were happy with it. Being able to spend money to avoid disaster was naturally the best outcome.

As the news spread rapidly, the local gentry along the way heard that the White Lotus Sect was no longer killing people, and they stopped responding to the government's call for soldiers.

Without the support of local gentry, Mianchi County, located at the gateway to the Xiaoshan Mountains, had no way to defend the city. When Liu Zhixie's tens of thousands of troops came, they had no choice but to surrender.

With Mianchi County surrendered, there was no obstacle left, and they could fight their way all the way to the Yellow River in Shanzhou.

……

At the same time that the White Lotus Sect was on its westward expedition, the Han Army's Seventh Division, divided into three routes, had just joined forces outside the city of Kaifeng.

After removing the troops stationed in Chenzhou, Xuzhou, and Guide, the Han army that joined forces under the walls of Kaicheng had less than 5 men left.

If you include the civilian laborers who accompanied the army, the number would be more than 7.

Even with a force of 7, capturing Kaifeng, a city with sparse military strength, would still be quite difficult.

After all, Kaifeng had a garrison of nearly 2 men, and the city had high walls and ample food and supplies, making it capable of holding out against the Han army for a long time.

Wei Xinrong, the commander of the 7th Division, only took a brief look at the defenses of Kaifeng and found it extremely troublesome: "What's wrong with these northern cities? Why are their city walls so high?"

It's normal to build it higher; it wouldn't be right if it weren't built higher!

Kaifeng, as the capital of Henan Province, has the advantage of being surrounded by four rivers, with an extremely developed network of inland waterways. Even today, a grain transport canal is still preserved there.

However, the development of inland waterway transportation came at a cost: almost all the land surrounding Kaifeng was rapidly becoming saline. Moreover, the section of the Yellow River near Kaifeng was a suspended river, frequently breaching its banks and flooding.

开封府城墙高约4丈（13米），宽约5丈9尺（19米），整个外城墙周长就有50里，常住人口能达到150余万。

With such a high city wall, more than 2 meters taller than Jingzhou City, it's no wonder Wei Xinrong complained of a headache.

After all, Kaifeng was notoriously easy to attack but difficult to defend. The emperors and ministers of successive dynasties were not fools. If they couldn't solve the problem with the terrain, they could only focus on building up the city walls and infrastructure.

After thinking for a moment, Wei Xinrong decided to test the waters first: "Pass on my order: the first and second battalions will launch a feint attack from both sides, with the artillery battalion providing fire support!"

Once the military order was issued, the Han army mobilized very quickly.

The 7th Division was a relatively new unit within the Han army. General Wei Xinrong, the commander of the 7th Division, was also a newcomer. Although he had captured quite a few cities, his combat experience was still far from sufficient.

Wei Xinrong was aware of his own weaknesses, so when he saw that Kaifeng had high walls and thick walls and seemed difficult to attack, he adopted a more conservative conventional siege tactic.

The soldiers of the first and second battalions of the Han army had received orders and began to launch a feint attack on Kaifeng from two sides, pushing shield carts and trench bridges.

Among them, the shield cart has a wider range of uses, not only for siege warfare but also for normal combat between the two armies.

(Shield Cart)
Shield wagons were often made of thick wooden planks, with the front resembling a huge shield, covered with layers of iron and cowhide. Therefore, they could block most sword strikes and even withstand the bombardment of arquebuses and ordinary field artillery.

Moreover, it was not afraid of fire or stones. The front of the shield was specially designed with steps and firing ports, allowing friendly archers and musketeers to shoot down enemy troops.

Such a useful battlefield weapon, it's absurd that it was actually created by the Manchu Qing army back then.

Because the Qing army was initially too backward, lacking artillery and firearms, they were bombarded mercilessly by the Ming army's cannons. It is even rumored that Nurhaci died from a cannon attack by Yuan Chonghuan. Therefore, the Qing army learned from its mistakes and, after gaining the allegiance of warlords such as Kong Youde of Dongjiang Town, not only formed its own firearms unit but also developed shield wagons specifically designed to counter artillery.

Now, the Qing army has long abandoned the use of shield carts, and many Qing soldiers have never even seen what a shield cart is.
The Han army, however, brought out their shield carts, and even made some slight improvements. They increased the shield carts' protective capabilities, and replaced the iron plates on the front with new steel plates. These new steel plates, combined with cowhide coverings for shock absorption, could completely ignore the matchlock muskets in the hands of the Qing army, and could even dodge flintlock muskets.

Liu Yong was not without knowledge. Although he had never seen a shield chariot in person, he had seen pictures of it in military books. A sense of alarm immediately arose in his heart, and he shouted, "Quick! Fire arrows! Fire arrows immediately! Where are our cannons? Fire!"

Because they had made preparations in advance, and Kaifeng had more than 1800 Green Standard Army soldiers defending it, their combat strength was somewhat lacking, but they were still regular troops.

If they were a regular army, they would use artillery and could also muster a number of archers who could draw bows and shoot arrows.

"Shhhhhh!"

"Boom boom boom!"

The Han army continued to advance, pushing shield carts and trench bridges, while Qing troops rained down cannon fire and arrows from the Kaifeng city walls.

As expected, the arrow rain was completely blocked by the shield chariot. Many arrows were deflected without even penetrating the cowhide on the surface of the chariot.

Needless to say, the Qing army's cannons were real cannons, but their calibers were too small, and there wasn't a single red-coated cannon.

This was partly due to the Qing army's poor cannon-casting technology, which prevented them from quickly casting cannons and also compromised the quality of the cannons they produced. This was especially true for the "red-coated" cannons, which had an even longer production cycle and were of even lower quality.

As the capital of Henan Province, Kaifeng must have had cannons before, but all of these cannons were taken away by the British.

Now, most of the red-coated cannons were left in Xuzhou City, becoming spoils of war for the Han army.

Of course, the Han army looked down on these captured red-coated cannons because they were so bad. The cannon barrels were full of pits and cracks, and several cannons had many gaps. They were also incredibly heavy.

Arrows and cannonballs rained down in turn, but the arrows posed no threat to the Han army whatsoever. The cannonballs fared much better; they either missed or hit but failed to damage the enemy.

Liu Yong felt a chill run down his spine, before he could even come up with a solution.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Han army's cannons then opened fire.

Compared to the limited firepower of the Qing army's artillery, the firepower of the Han army's artillery was far superior.

Fifteen cannons bombarded the walls of Kaifeng, causing them to tremble violently. Many Qing soldiers were terrified by the bombardment.

If it weren't for Liu Yong personally overseeing the situation, the morale of these Qing troops would probably have collapsed after just a few cannon shots from the Han army.

Upon seeing that the Han army's cannons were more powerful than his own, Liu Yong abandoned the foolish idea of ​​engaging the Han army in a firepower contest and instead turned his attention to the trench bridges sandwiched between the shield wagons.

Liu Yong shouted, "Pass down the order to have the gunners aim at those folding bridges and destroy the Southern army's folding bridges first. Without the folding bridges, the Southern army will not be able to cross the moat."

(Folded-down moat bridge)
Folded bridges are two moat bridges that are connected and extended through pivots (pins) and winches, specifically designed to deal with cities where the moat is too wide.

During a siege, all that is needed is to push the moat bridge to the front of the moat, and then use a winch to lower and fold it up to build a temporary moat bridge, allowing the attacking troops to cross the river via the moat bridge.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Qing army's city defense cannons immediately opened fire, all aiming at the Han army's folding bridges on both sides.

Under the intense barrage of fire, three folding bridges were immediately damaged by artillery fire. Although the remaining folding bridges were not destroyed, the Qing army had already set their sights on them, giving the Han army no chance to approach the moat.

The Han army's cannons immediately followed suit, bombarding the Qing army's defensive cannons located throughout the city walls.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

The two sides exchanged blows, creating a deafening roar of artillery fire.

The Qing army had more cannons for city defense than the Han army, and they were also protected by towering city walls, making it difficult for the Han army's cannons to effectively strike the Qing army's city defense cannons.

The Qing army's city defense cannons, on the contrary, posed a significant obstacle to the Han army's trenches and bridges.

After a morning of continuous bombardment, the Han army hit three Qing army city defense artillery positions, and the folding bridges used by the Han army to cross the moat were almost all destroyed.

The first day's feint attack ended hastily, and the Han army had basically probed the city's defenses.

They were neither too strong nor too weak; a direct assault would certainly have been able to capture them, but the casualties would have been too great, which the Han army could not accept.

Wei Xinrong immediately sent a telegram to Xuzhou requesting instructions to dispatch siege cannons and reinforcements. At the same time, based on the experience of Xuzhou, he also collected and purchased good coffins in Kaifeng.

They then used grain to recruit people as laborers, and right under Liu Yong's nose, they began digging siege tunnels.

(End of this chapter)