After hearing this, Nie Jiugui let out a heavy breath. This was the first time he had received an imperial order to fight with Chen Tianhua's men. He thought he was sure of success, but he didn't expect such a result, which was a bit difficult for him to accept.

It’s okay to say that Chen Tianhua is powerful in person. Everyone knows it, but I didn’t expect that any leader of the group could be so good at fighting. I really can’t swallow this. Not only is it difficult to get along with the regent, but he himself

The governor also lost face.

If Chen Tianhua's conspiracy really succeeds and the Qing Dynasty is overthrown, will Nie Jiugui still have a foothold in the future?

I originally thought that this time the Fengzhong security force was going in alone. He had powerful naval gun support here, and with the title of Imperial Minister, he summoned the surrounding Qing troops to wipe out the Fengzhong rebels. Not only did he get angry, but he also

Taking the opportunity to gain the favor of the regent, he will surely become the governor of Liangjiang in the future.

But reality gave him a heavy blow. Thinking of this, Nie Jiugui felt particularly depressed.

"Governor... Oh, your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, let's retreat temporarily to take a rest and see if we can find a shortcut. Sneak attacks are more effective than strong attacks. Listening to the sound of cannons, Master Sa Zhenbing's fleet under Madang Mountain is probably also fighting hard. Let's go and find out.

Come on." Seeing Nie Jiugui's dejected look, Yin Zhiping continued to console him:

"Besides, it is not that we have gained nothing this time. At least your imperial envoy's appeal has been confirmed. We are recruiting troops this time to guard Nanchang and Jiujiang and other places to prevent the revolutionary army from attacking. These are ours.

Territory!”

Nie Jiugui looked up at the sky and saw that the sun had begun to set in the west. He had no hope of occupying Xiangshan and Huangshan before dark. Any further delay would not do him any good, so he agreed that the team should withdraw to the camp to rest.

At the foot of Madang Mountain, in the morning, while the Hai Rong and Hai Chi were bombarding Xiangshan and Huangshan, Shen Shoukun led the cruiser Hai Chen, followed by the Chu Yu, Chu Tai, Chu Tong and other shallow water armored gunboats, forming a long snake formation.

, and rushed towards the waters of Madang Pass at full speed.

As they moved in, they fired artillery bombardments at the Madang Fortress.

The defenders on Madangji Mountain immediately fired back.

Guarding Madang Fortress is the third battalion of Song Xiaoniu Regiment, and the battalion commander is a young rising star named Feilai.

Fele was originally a platoon leader in the Yang Shanxin Regiment in Dongting Lake, western Gansu Province. Later, he fought bravely and was first promoted to company officer under Battalion Commander Butcher. Last time when he was escorting the freighter Orchid, he fought with dexterity and killed the gangsters who boarded the ship.

He received first-class merit, and he graduated from the Zhejiang Armed Forces Academy. Last year, when the army was expanded and reorganized, he was personally named by Chen Tianhua and promoted to battalion commander.

Since he was at the same level as his former boss Butcher, in order to avoid embarrassment, Chen Tianhua asked brigade commander Chen Er to transfer him to the Mavericks Regiment of the Southern Jiangxi Song Dynasty.

During this long-distance attack on Madang, he came here with Song Xiaoniu and took the initiative to take on the important task of holding on to the Madang Fortress.

After accepting the mission, Fellay conducted a comprehensive inspection of the entire Madang Fortress and Madang Mountain. He found that there was a three-story fort built on Madang Mountain. According to the local guide, during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, Lin Qirong, a famous general of the Taiping Army, guarded the Madang Fortress.

It's built by Zhu Jian.

The first floor of this three-story fort was built on the top of Madang Mountain. A cave 3 meters high, about 4.5 meters wide, and more than 30 meters deep was dug next to it. It may have been mainly used to store gunpowder, shells and other weapons.

Used, it now seems to be a natural defense barrier against artillery fire.

A 4.5-meter-wide natural stone cave can place two 75mm field mountain guns side by side. This cave can place twenty artillery pieces.

The second floor is built on the mountainside. The fort is smaller. It is a circular fort with a height of 2 meters and a diameter of 4 meters built with stone strips. The location is relatively hidden.

The third floor is located on the cliff of Jitou at the protruding part. There is a brick and stone bunker built behind the fort. The bunker is 3.5 meters high, 4 meters wide and 35 meters deep. The cave door opens to the southeast and northwest, and there is another

It is located on a flat land of about 600 square meters, where you can train troops or gather teams.

In the past, the Qing army's forts mainly used Jitou on the third floor as the main fort. There were three general cannons and two furlong rapid-fire cannons placed here.

There used to be two French cannons halfway up the mountain, but they have become useless due to years of lack of maintenance.

The fort on the top of the mountain is basically useless.

After observation, Fellay believed that although the main battery on the Jethead protrusion was in a dangerous position, it was precisely where the enemy ship's artillery fire focused on it. There was no obstruction here, and those masonry bunkers were vulnerable to the 150mm and 120mm heavy artillery.

He decided to use the fort as a decoy to attract fire from enemy ships.

His focus was on the first-level fort on the top of Madang Mountain. It was hidden and open, and enemy ships could not see it with telescopes. However, the river below could be clearly seen on the mountain. There was also a natural stone cave bunker that could not be collapsed by artillery fire.

The new product of Hanyang Arsenal, the 75mm mountain cannon is lightweight and equipped with wheels. It can be moved in and out of the cave at any time, so that you can play hide-and-seek with the enemy on the top of the mountain.

As for the fort halfway up the mountain, as an auxiliary to the fort on the top of the mountain, two 75mm mountain guns were placed for sneak attacks or supplementary purposes.

When Shen Shoukun led the ship to rush over, Fellay immediately commanded the twelve artillery guns on the top of the mountain to fight back.

Although the caliber of the 75mm mountain gun is small, its shooting speed is fast. Experts from the arsenal have improved the original Krupp, aiming calculations and rapid fire. The naval gun fires one round, and the mountain gun can fire three shells.

And in the initial bombardment, the naval guns hit the Sandhead Fort.

As expected, in just a quarter of an hour, the heavy artillery of seven naval guns blasted the Jitou Fort to pieces. The barrels and heavy turrets were blown apart by high-explosive bombs and fell into the Yangtze River. The bunker behind the fort collapsed with a rumble.

, masonry splash.

The enemy ship's artillery fire was stupidly aimed at Jitou Fort. Unexpectedly, the shells crashed down from the top of the mountain, making the enemy dizzy. At this time, they hurriedly adjusted the muzzle and aimed again, but it was too late.

The command tower of the Haichen was hit by artillery fire. The two 105mm cannons on the starboard side were destroyed and one was damaged. More than twenty gunners and sailors fell. Shen Shoukun was seriously injured on the spot, and Captain Rong Xu took over the command.

Both the Chu Yu and Chu Tai were hit by artillery shells and suffered considerable damage.

Rongxu wanted to continue to rush through Guanyu, but unexpectedly the Fengzhong fleet that had been ambushing in the northern waters appeared. The Wild Wolf, Golden Wolf and other ships opened fire violently. The enemy ships suffered a heavy loss and were forced to retreat.

go back.

In this way, the fleet artillery battle lasted for more than an hour. The Qing mixed fleet was attacked from both ends and retreated in defeat.

The Haichen, Chu Yu, and Chu Tong were seriously damaged and needed to be berthed for repairs. The Chutai was severely damaged. The main gun and port turret on the main deck were hit and damaged by shells. The boiler of the power system was destroyed. It

It was dragged back by other ships.

The ship's sailors, gunners, and engine crews suffered a total of fifty or sixty casualties.

Faced with this situation, fleet commander Sa Zhenbing, despite being humiliated, calmed down and thought about it, thinking that it would be difficult to rush through. Even if the revolutionary army was allowed to go, it would be meaningless for them to rush to Hankou because there were not many shells left.

In order to preserve what little money the Qing Navy had, it was decided to turn around and evacuate the fleet to Wuhu for anchorage and repairs.
Chapter completed!