The Nanjing Military Region's campaign against northern Jiangsu was personally commanded by deputy commander Yang Zonglian, and a total of three armies were dispatched to cross the river from Zhenjiang, Jiangyin, and Zhangjiagang respectively, and to directly attack Yangzhou, Taizhou, and Nantong in northern Jiangsu.Northern Jiangsu was garrisoned by Ding Richang, the old department of the Hunan Army, and he and Yang Zonglian belonged to Zeng Guofan's staff, and the two were also old acquaintances.Before the battle began, Yang Zonglian also wrote letters in his private capacity many times to persuade Ding Richang to raise the banner against the Qing Dynasty, but every time he was scolded by Ding Richang.Yang Zonglian had no choice but to meet his former colleagues.There was nothing special about his attack on northern Jiangsu, and the combat effectiveness of the two sides was not at the same level at all.The Huaxing army has all been equipped with breech rifles, and most of Ding Richang's soldiers and horses are still only armed with knives, guns and clubs.Because of the limited conditions, Ding Richang's strategy was still the old-fashioned strategy of sticking to the city.After he took over the defense of northern Jiangsu, he began to organize the people to overhaul the city.In vain, they tried to rely on the city fortifications to block the attack of the Huaxing army.The northern Jiangsu River is crisscrossed, and this time Yang Zonglian also attacked with the small warships of the navy.After continuous improvements, all the guns equipped on the naval warships have been converted into breech guns, and the shells are also filled with extremely powerful yellow explosives.In terms of performance, it is very close to the howitzers of later generations, but at present it is only assembled for naval warships, and has not yet been assembled for the army.The three prefectures near the Yangtze River did not hold out for a day after the Huaxing army launched an attack.Ding Richang's two-year hard work to build the city defense system was completely destroyed by artillery fire.The soldiers in the city either raised their hands in surrender or abandoned the city and fled north.During the time when the Qing court and New China were maintaining peace, because the two places were only separated by a river, the people in Jiangbei were no strangers to the Huaxing Army.After the three cities were occupied, the Huaxing army not only did not encounter the resistance of the people, but the citizens in the city spontaneously organized themselves to welcome the Huaxing army into the city.The eyes of the common people are bright, and under the governance of the Huaxing Army, southern Jiangsu far surpasses northern Jiangsu in all aspects.If it weren't for Ding Richang's strict control, they would have moved their families to southern Jiangsu a long time ago.When Ding Richang learned the news, his eyes almost fell out in surprise.Only one day after the battle, the three major cities south of northern Jiangsu all fell.He deployed more than 30,000 soldiers and horses in Yangzhou, Taizhou, and Nantong.What frustrated him the most was that none of his colleagues in the Jiangbei provinces sent troops to support.In fact, it is no wonder that others, now the provinces of Jiangbei have been firmly besieged by the Huaxing army on all sides.The Yuan family in Henan had to face the Huaxing army stationed in the mountains and Shaanxi, and Ding Baozhen in Shandong was in an even more difficult situation, not only the Huaxing army directly under the local government, but also the Boxers who had fled back to Shandong.Wu Changqing in Anhui was in an even more difficult situation, when Yang Zonglian led the Nanjing Military Region's three-way army to launch an attack on northern Jiangsu.Xu Desheng, deputy commander of the Guangdong Military Region, also commanded the three-way army to cross the Yangtze River, and the front of the troops was directed at Hefei.Xu Desheng and Yang Zonglian did not have many military exploits among the senior generals of the Huaxing Army, and they could be regarded as mediocre generals.There is more than enough to defend the city, but not enough to attack.At the beginning, they were also incorporated into the Huaxing Army by Qiao Zhiqing because of their meritorious deeds.The reason why Qiao Zhiqing handed over these two battlefields to the two of them was also because Wu Changqing and Ding Richang were the weakest.Under the absolute strength of the Huaxing Army, Yang Zonglian and Xu Desheng only need to manage the three armies well, and they don't need any special tactics to take the two places.Only three days after the battle began, the Huaxing Army completed the liquidation of Hefei and the outer prefectures and counties of Huai'an, and the Third Route Army completed the strategic encirclement of the two places.The Tuan Yong encountered along the way was still defending the city at first.Later, the more morale declined, and as soon as they heard the guns of the Huaxing army, they all fled.The regiments in various places are armed, no matter what tactics are used, as long as they fight against the Huaxing army.The skin and flesh that were hit by bullets from 300 meters away were opened, and in the face of the rain of bullets, a group of people rushed up and then fell down, and there was no way to resist them at all.Wu Changqing and Ding Richang set up the provincial capitals in Hefei and Huai'an, and the soldiers and horses deployed around fled and died, and finally gathered in these two places one after another.At the beginning, it was claimed that 100,000 people were stationed in northern Huibei and northern Jiangsu, but now there are only 30,000 or 40,000 people left in each city.Ding Richang summoned his generals together to discuss the military situation, and all the generals sat around in frustration and did not say a word for a long time."
You are all brothers who followed me when the army was raised, and now the Huaxing army is about to hit the doorstep.If you have anything to say, just say it, if it is a few days later, I am afraid that there will not even be a chance to speak" Ding Richang looked around at the generals with frowns, the cold wind in winter had just blown, and his asthma attack had again, and as soon as he spoke, he coughed non-stop.He convened this military conference in order to finally unify his thinking.Before the war, he was ready to be loyal to the Qing Dynasty.However, recently, the morale of the army has been unstable, and all the generals are afraid that the Huaxing army is like a tiger, and there is a faint trend of collapse."
Marshal, now the defense line north of Huai'an has been completely broken by the Huaxing army.Huai'an is flat and has no danger to defend.We still evacuate to the north as soon as possible, mix with Ding Baozhen in Shandong, and maybe rely on the mountains and the Huaxing army to maneuver, waiting for the soldiers and horses of the imperial court to enter the customs to support" Ding Richang's deputy general Zuo Yungui was the first to speak, he was originally in Yangzhou to set up defenses, but in the first battle, the Huaxing army broke through all the defense lines, and quickly retreated to Huai'an."
Marshal, what Brother Zuo said is very true, but the troops in our hands can no longer compete with the Huaxing Army.They have warships on the waterways, and even the Flying Fish Monster in the sky, and our city can't withstand a round of bombardment.The brothers were now all frightened, and fled as soon as they heard the sound of gunfire. ”Another lieutenant general, Wu Da, also confided in fear, remembering the scene of the battle with the Huaxing Army that day, he couldn't help but tremble.I don't understand at all, how can Hua Xingjun make a big fish that can fly, and it can drop bombs from above."
Dashuai, let's withdraw" "Dashuai, stay in the green mountains without worrying about running out of firewood" Other generals also opened their mouths to persuade each other, and they didn't want to defend Huai'an anymore."
Okay, according to what you said, let's give Huai'an City to the Huaxing Army empty-handed, right" Ding Richang asked coldly, seeing that his generals were so afraid of the Huaxing Army, a trace of anger immediately appeared on his face.The generals bowed their heads in shame and remained silent, and none of them dared to answer."
I won't say more, Ben Shuai has decided to stay in Huai'an to desperately resist the Huaxing army.If you are afraid, go first, but you must remember that the Huaxing army has always been the most opposed to the landlord forces, and every time they conquer a land, they divide it evenly.Your family has a large area of fertile land in Huaibei, and if you are willing to give up these lands, you can all leave. ”Ding Richang directly grasped their weakness, and now is no longer the time to talk to these generals about righteousness, and can only tie them up through interests.Sure enough, all the generals looked at each other sideways, whispering, and their faces were full of confusion."
There is another thing that the marshal would like to inform you that the imperial court has sent an urgent report, and after the beginning of spring, he will lead a large army south to enter the customs.Marshal Ding Baozhen of Shandong will also come to our aid, and no matter what, we will defend Huaibei to the death.Even if you die, you have to repay the court's kindness" Ding Richang told a lie with righteous words, in fact, he had already broken off contact with Shandong and the imperial court.This is also to appease the morale of the army and restore the confidence of the generals in the enemy."
Marshal, we all listen to your insistence on Huai'an and fight to the death with the Huaxing Army" Zuo Yungui thought for a long time, and really changed his mind of escaping.If there is really the assistance of the imperial court and the Lu army, then there may be a chance to turn defeat into victory."
Marshal, we all listen to you" Other generals were also led by Wu Da and expressed their resistance to the end."
Okay, everyone has faith.We still have tens of thousands of foreign spearmen and hundreds of artillery pieces in Huai'an, and there is plenty of grain and grass after the autumn harvest.As long as everyone is united, they will definitely be able to withstand the attack of the Huaxing Army" Ding Richang breathed a sigh of relief, although his mouth was high, but his heart was bottomless.He didn't know if Ding Baozhen and the imperial court would go south to help, and he didn't know how long he could hold out.However, if northern Jiangsu is the grain and grass base of Shandong and Henan, if it is easily abandoned, then the Qing court will have no chance to pacify Jiangbei.Two days later, the Huaxing army came to the city of Huai'an.After clearing the strongholds outside the city, they prepared to launch a general attack on Huai'an City.Yang Zonglian remembered his affection for Ding Richang, personally arrived at the front line, and sent a messenger to write another letter to Ding Richang, persuading him to lay down his arms and surrender and stop making useless struggles.Ding Richang quickly sent a reply letter, the content of which was only ten big characters, "Life is a Qing person, death is a Qing ghost" Yang Zonglian smiled bitterly, closed the envelope, and waved the order flag for attack.For a while, the drums sounded, and the horns whined.Ten 500-ton warships, which had already been properly deployed in the canal, launched an intensive bombardment of the city walls.Cannonballs whizzed out, each battleship was fully equipped with twenty guns, and ten battleships were lined up side by side, less than thirty meters apart, completely covering the northern wall of Huai'an City.I only heard a rumbling sound resounding through the sky, and the city wall was completely no different from tofu scum in the face of the huge impact of the explosion of the cannonballs.At the same time, the aviation squadron carried out intensive bombardment of the other three walls from the sky, and shells rained down from the sky.At this moment, there was no other sound at all, and the regimental training soldiers stationed on the city wall did not fire a single shot or arrow, and in the constantly flying shrapnel, more than half of them were killed and wounded in an instant.Ding Richang also commanded the battle on the city wall, and was completely stunned by the Huaxing army's fighting style.This kind of integrated sea, land, and air offensive can only be done by the Huaxing Army.No matter how strong the walls are you, in such a dense bombardment, they quickly crumble.The Huaxing army launched a general attack at this time, pulled the trigger five hundred meters away from the city wall, and shot at the city wall intensively.As soon as the soldiers stationed on the city wall showed their heads, they were completely pierced by the flying bullets.The generals were already afraid of battle, and at this time they hurriedly retreated to the city under artillery fire.The defeat was like a mountain, and after the rout began.Ding Richang could no longer stop the decadent situation, and in anger and despair, he pulled out a knife and wiped it on his neck
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