The river warships of the Yangtze River Navy are attacking Jiujiang.
This was the third day that the First Army led by Su Xiong, the Second Army led by Su Zhuang, and the Fifth Army led by Su Li met in Jiujiang.
According to the advance arrangements made by King Su He of Qin, Su Xiong served as the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces.
He had just received a military intelligence report from the Navy and the Eighth Army.
Su Xiong dipped his pen in ink and was writing a military report to King Su He of Qin, introducing the Qin army's battles in the southern battlefield before joining forces.
He looked at the pen in his hand. This was a writing instrument that became popular right after it came out.
It is inconvenient to write with calligraphy, and it is impossible to write too small.
Pencil writing is easy to be modified, which is not conducive to writing important content.
Su Xiong carefully recalled the experiences of each army during this period.
He used straightforward language to write down all the important things that happened during this period in the military newspaper.
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4333 (the ninth year of Chongzhen), February 8th.
Su Shan led the Sixth Army, escorted by the Yangtze River Navy Squadron, along the Xiangjiang River to the foot of Changsha City.
The Second Division of the Sixth Army, with more than 10,000 Qin troops, directly surrounded Changsha City.
Zhu Qiansheng, Chief of Staff of the Sixth Army, said: “Southern Huguang is very complicated, mainly due to the complex terrain and the mixed population of Miao and Han people.
The work of reforming the land and returning it to local people needs to be the responsibility of the local government.
Our Sixth Army only needs to capture a few big cities in southern Huguang.
Our Sixth Army will be able to complete its mission and then be stationed in Huguang and the southwest region.
The king almost wiped out all his troops, and Hanzhong and the northern region were captured early.
Now that all regions are basically stable, Southwest China and Guangxi and Guangxi have each left an army stationed there based on the advice of the general staff.
I hope that in the later stage, our army will also have the opportunity to take turns on the battlefield.
The third division led the garrison to attack the rest of Changsha Prefecture.
Our army has ample time, but we must also capture the prefectures and counties in southern Huguang as soon as possible."
Su Shan nodded and said: "Don't worry, the other armies can defeat us in one go, and the gap between our military achievements is not big.
Each army needs to take turns on the battlefield, and our Sixth Army will definitely have a chance.
As a reserve team, the King will definitely provide corresponding compensation.
The king will not treat any of his troops badly."
Su Shan looked at the clock at the military headquarters and saw the time passing by.
He frowned and asked: "What did the secret guards say? Didn't they say that the prefect of Changsha wanted to surrender the city."
Yuan Qingpeng, the commander of the Seventh Army, stood up and said, "Should I ask about the situation?"
Not long after Yuan Qingpeng left, he returned to the military headquarters again.
"Commander, let's attack!
The secret guards entered Changsha City and have not come out yet. They must have turned in."
When Su Shan heard the news, he knew that there was no way to capture Changsha City more easily.
"Let Chu Fengyu, commander of the Second Division, attack.
Tell him I am not in a hurry and will try to reduce the casualties of the soldiers as much as possible."
Chu Fengyu, commander of the Second Division, received the order from the military headquarters and immediately began to attack Changsha City.
"Artillery regiment, focus on attacking the North City Gate.
Don't be stingy with ammunition. We rely on the Xiang River to quickly replenish ammunition.
Blast the north gate of Changsha City to pieces."
Chu Fengyu saw that the artillery regiment's heavy artillery opened fire quickly, and craters were drilled from time to time on the north wall of Changsha City.
This kind of city wall made of earth and stone cannot stop heavy artillery attacks at all.
Chu Fengyu pointed at the Changsha City wall and said:
"From the time I attacked the city, I felt that the city wall was now useless.
The city wall that cost so much money to build is not even useful for a bundle of barbed wire.
From now on, except for fortresses built with reinforced concrete, no matter how huge the city wall is, it will not be able to stop the cannons."
Song Xinglei, Chief of Staff of the Second Division, nodded and said: "The principal understands the role of cannons. The Hanzhong City Wall has disappeared and the Rongcheng City Wall has also been demolished.
In the age of firearms, the army has failed, and no matter how well the city wall is built, it will have no effect."
After Song Xinglei finished speaking, he sighed and said: "Why don't you fight, commander? The staff asked us to act as the central reserve team, and the commander and the others recognized us.
After Huguang is defeated this time, our army will not be able to earn any military merit.
After the world is unified, there will be no chance for us soldiers to make meritorious deeds."
Chu Fengyu heard Song Xinglei say this, but he didn't think so.
"Xing Lei, the king has said many times in public that after unifying the world, he will entrust meritorious ministers to each other.
There will be no enfeoffment within China's traditional sphere of influence, and those of us who have made great contributions will be enfeoffed to overseas areas."
Song Xinglei immediately interrupted Chu Fengyu, and he said extremely excitedly: "That's why I feel that we missed the opportunity.
Only if we make enough meritorious deeds can we have a chance to be enfeoffed.
We watched other comrades go overseas to become kings. They held great power and developed their own countries.
We missed this opportunity because of insufficient military merit.
Just thinking about this makes me feel heartbroken, what a great opportunity wasted."
Chu Fengyu looked at Song Xinglei's extremely excited look, and comforted him: "Don't worry too much, you have also seen the world map drawn by the king.
There are so many places outside of China, and China only occupies a little bit of the world.
When the king divides the territories, he will definitely not give a lot of territory to one person and create vassal kings who can threaten China.
By then there will definitely be a small space for everyone.
We all have opportunities, and our Sixth Army is permanently stationed in the southwest.
If the king really expands outward, the southwest region must be his first choice.
We must be the first people to eat crabs.
It cannot be that the land we conquer will not have our share when it is entrusted."
Song Xinglei didn't agree with Chu Fengyu's statement, but after hearing his statement, he felt much better.
They only talked about this topic superficially. The front line had already begun tentative siege of the city, and they focused on commanding the army.
The artillery regiment attacked Changsha City for half a day and one night.
The cannon only needs to be aimed at a fixed position, and the cannon is stabilized by the retractable gun mount.
The 150 artillery can also fire at night. The shells are aimed at the approximate position of the city wall without deflecting too much.
It was just dawn on February 9th.
Su Shan took a telescope and looked at the condition of the Changsha City wall.
After continuous bombing, the city wall has become dilapidated, full of huge cracks, and seems to collapse at any time.
Su Shan said happily: "Looking at this situation, if we wait a little longer, the city wall will collapse.
The Ming army in Changsha City is not strong to begin with. If we break through the city wall, they will never resist stubbornly."
Zhu Qiansheng nodded in agreement and said, "That's true. The most elite Ming troops in Huguang are all in Wuchang Mansion.
All the elite soldiers of Changsha Prefecture were transferred away, and there were only a few Hongyi cannons on the city wall.
I thought Changsha Mansion would surrender, but I don’t know what happened..."
Zhu Qiansheng was talking when he heard a loud noise.
He immediately looked up at the Changsha City Wall and saw that the northern wall had collapsed, revealing a huge gap.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Huge war drums sounded, and Qin soldiers launched an attack from the gap with guns in hand.
When Yuan Qingpeng saw this situation, he said firmly: "Changsha City will fall into our hands soon."
They only waited for an hour before they saw Song Xinglei, chief of staff of the Second Division, running over.
"Report to the Army Commander that the Second Division has captured Changsha City, please give instructions."
"After wiping out the main force of the Ming army, we will hand over Changsha City to the garrison. We will immediately move south along the Xiangjiang River without giving the Ming army a chance to breathe."
Su Shandu did not enter Changsha City. He took the headquarters of the Seventh Army and sailed south directly.
Su Pengfei's first division has already broken through Changzhou Prefecture and is attacking Baoqing Prefecture.
They cannot fall behind and quickly capture Hengyang City along the Xiangjiang River to open up connections with Guangdong and Guangxi as soon as possible.
Su Shan took a boat to go south, and he also knew the reason why Changsha City did not surrender.
The eunuch guarding the city took the lead and executed the Changsha prefect who was about to surrender.
Even if he did this, he could not stop the Qin army's powerful offensive.
Faced with the absolute disparity in strength, it is no longer possible to rely on personal strategy and bravery to turn the tide of the war.
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4333 (the ninth year of Chongzhen), February 8th.
Su Zhuang led the main force of the Second Army, and with the cooperation of the Yangtze River Navy's river warships, fought all the way to the vicinity of Wuchang Prefecture.
Admiral Shui Yunze of the Yangtze River Navy was on his flagship, observing the river channel with a telescope.
"Captain Su Zhuang, the Ming army is still doing the same thing, blocking the Yangtze River with sunken ships and iron cables.
There are a large number of Hongyi cannons and mines in Jingzhou City, and our river warships dare not approach them at all.
These iron ropes crossing the river in Wuchang Prefecture are completely unlearned.
There are no heavy troops deployed around the iron chain, and the forts are just these Hongyi cannons that are about to be eliminated.
The Hongyi cannon imitated by the Ming Dynasty had a very short range.
These muzzle-loading guns did not have the same range as the breech-loading guns on river battleships.
Their rate of fire lags far behind our army's breech-loading guns.
These river warships of mine can directly suppress the Ming Dynasty's forts.
There is something strange on the water. Where iron cables should be placed, the Ming army did not."
Shui Yunze said with great confidence that he was not talking big words. His record along the way had already verified his statement.
Su Zhuang pointed to the iron ropes on the river and said: "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms has introduced that after the iron ropes crossed the river, the camp was set on fire.
The Ming Navy was completely annihilated by the Yangtze River Navy, and we have taken control of the Yangtze River channel.
The Ming army wanted to stop us by crossing the river with iron cables, but that was completely wishful thinking.
As for the iron rope you mentioned, I also feel that there is something unusual about the meeting. Could it be that someone destroyed the iron rope first?"
Shui Yunze said confidently: "With the escort of our Yangtze River Navy, the fire ships of the Ming Army Navy will have no effect at all.
This is very possible. The Fifth Army and the Hanshui Navy were a long time ahead of us.
Although there were several fortified cities on their way, they fought quickly..."
Shui Yunze, the admiral of the Yangtze River Navy, was speaking when a piercing air whistle alarm interrupted his words.
Ohh Ohh ohh!
The sound of air whistles driven by steam engines on river warships resounded through the sky.
Shui Yunze immediately ordered: "When a dangerous situation is discovered, raise the battle flag and all artillery units will be in position immediately."
The flagship of the Yangtze River Navy upgraded its battle flag, and its cannon was immediately pushed out of the gun window.
The artillery captain used binoculars to observe the surrounding situation.
Be prepared to detect the enemy in advance and adjust the position of the cannon in time.
The messenger quickly came over to report: "Our army's 150 heavy artillery pieces were found on the walls of Hanyang City, and they were firing across the river.
The observation ship sounded its whistle to remind all ships to avoid artillery fire."
Su Zhuang cursed angrily: "What kind of son of a bitch is this? He actually sold all the heavy artillery to the Ming Dynasty.
If I knew who it was, I would cut him into pieces."
Woo~woo, woo! Woo~woo, woo!
The sound of alternating long and short air whistles sounded from the city on the other side.
When the soldiers of the Qin Army on the Yangtze River Navy heard the sound of the air whistle, they all smiled.
This signal is unique to the Qin army.
Their ship approached Hanyang City, and the scene above the city could be seen through the telescope.
They observed Hanyang City carefully and found that the Great Wall flag of the Qin Army was erected on the top of Hanyang City.
Hanyang City has been occupied by their Qin army.
Su Zhuang sent a small boat and approached Hanyang City. The boat quickly returned and confirmed the identity of the other party.
Su Zhuang asked the Yangtze River Navy to dock at Hanyang City Wharf.
He took the Second Army off the ship and went to Hanyang City to rest.
When Su Li saw Su Zhuang and the others arriving, he took the initiative to say hello with clasped fists: "Brother Su Zhuang, long time no see!"
While Su Zhuang returned the gift, he said with emotion: "Brother Su Li, we haven't cooperated for a long time, let's work together again.
We must fight this battle beautifully and win Wuchang Prefecture as soon as possible."
Su Li took the initiative and said: "This time our Fifth Army will cooperate with your Second Army. Let's work together to capture Wuchang City."
The numbers of each army of the Qin Army are determined based on the time when each army was established.
Su Li fell behind Su Zhuang in all aspects including position, qualifications and title.
In order to prevent unnecessary disputes, especially when he is completely unable to fight.
Su Zhuang was directly appointed as the commander-in-chief of this battle, and they worked together to capture Wuchang Mansion as soon as possible.
The capture of Wuchang Mansion meant that Huguang, the most important granary of the Ming Dynasty, was captured by them.
Without enough food, the life of the Ming Dynasty has entered a countdown.
When Su Zhuang saw Su Li's statement, he did not refuse. Now was not the time to refuse.
"Brother Su Li, let's tell you the general situation of this battle.
Let us understand together the situation of the Second and Fifth Armies."
Su Zhuang and Su Li directly conducted war games and reproduced the marching process of the Second Army and the Fifth Army.
"Brother Su Li, your Fifth Army has also encountered our army's standard weapons.
Look at this, these weapons are being lost on a large scale.
When we attack Wuchang Prefecture, we must pay attention to Wuchang Prefecture to see if there are weapons lost by our army."
Su Li said with emotion: "I don't know who dared to spread these things.
I don’t know if the secret recipe for gunpowder has been spread.
Fortunately, yellow gunpowder is not something that ordinary people can handle. It requires basic chemical industry.
Our two armies jointly issued an official document. I think this matter will alarm the king.
If we don’t talk about this matter, I believe the Military Justice Department will give us an explanation.”
Su Li took out a military map, pointed at Wuchang City and said: "Wuchang City is on the south bank of the Yangtze River.
Zuo Liangyu, the commander-in-chief of Huguang, was responsible for defending the city. I set out from Hanyang City and tried to cross the river many times.
Because there are too few naval personnel in the Han River, there is no way to escort us.
I have been blocked by Zuo Liangyu several times during my actions. Now that our two armies are united and the Yangtze River Navy is in control of the Yangtze River, we will definitely be able to successfully cross the river."
Su Zhuang looked at the military map and said:
"I led the Yangtze River Navy to attract the attention of Wuchang City from the west.
The Fifth Army went down the river from Hanyang City and circled to the east of Wuchang City.
Land directly east of Wuchang City.
We formed a pincer attack on Wuchang City.
No matter how capable Zuo Liangyu is, with the soldiers under his command, he cannot stop the attack of more than 80,000 troops from our two armies."
Su Zhuang and Su Li discussed the battle plan of the two armies, and they quickly reached an agreement.
The Second Army and the Fifth Army acted separately according to the plan, preparing to encircle Wuchang City.