While Pan Qiliang and others killed Bu Rigude, the cavalry regiment of the Seventh Division also defeated another Mongolian cavalry in the south of Caozhou Prefecture.
The cavalry regiment of the Seventh Division chased him all the way to the bank of the Yellow River without letting any of him escape.
It is not a wise choice to run away while being pursued by the Renaissance cavalry armed with lances.
This is equivalent to leaving the back to the Renaissance Army, and the consequences can be imagined.
Immediately, Dong Shuheng ordered the army to enter Daming Mansion, with two cavalry as flank cover and infantry in the middle.
The Renaissance Army pushed towards Daming Prefecture and successively captured Dongming, Kaizhou and Qingfeng.
Seng Gelinqin, who was waiting for the result in Daming Mansion, did not expect that he sent 6,000 men and horses without causing even a single wave.
I couldn't help but have a new understanding of the combat power of the Renaissance Army.
Immediately, he was overwhelmed by the attack of the Renaissance Army.
Originally, he hoped that the Huai Hai Pirates would take the initiative to attack.
Now that the Huaihai pirates really came, Seng Gelinqin was a little hesitant.
Although he still had more than 30,000 cavalry in his hands, he hesitated in front of the more than 10,000 revival troops.
He lost six thousand people in one fell swoop, which made him fearful of the combat power of the Renaissance Army.
After much hesitation, Seng Gelinqin decided to retreat to Zhangde Prefecture in Henan.
On March 25, the Renaissance Army captured Daming Prefecture and advanced towards Zhangde Prefecture in Henan. Together with the First Division, they formed a north-south pincer attack on Henan and also blocked Seng Gelinqin's northward road.
…
Let us return to the battlefield in Hunan for a moment.
The attack on Hunan was launched first and progressed the fastest.
So far, Peng Yulin has completely occupied most of Yuezhou Prefecture and Changsha Prefecture.
The newly established Ninth Division is currently serving as a reserve force in Anhui. Dong Shuheng's order is that the Ninth Division remains stationary for the time being. Seng Gelinqin's cavalry is still in Henan and can move southeast into Anhui at any time.
Peng Yulin's division instructors and the second division currently besieging Changsha are both ace units of the Renaissance Army. There is also the Yangtze River Navy cruising on the Xiangjiang River.
What Zeng Guofan was best at was fighting stupid battles and forging strongholds. The first advantage of this tactic is that it can first consume the enemy's vitality and weaken the enemy's spirit, and then counterattack when the enemy is at its weakest.
Peng Yulin has stayed in the Fuxing Army for so long, and his concept of war has already changed.
The combat philosophy of the Renaissance Army is to give full play to the role of firepower in war.
If a problem can be solved through firepower, don't use soldiers' lives to solve it.
On February 26, Peng Yulin, with the cooperation of the West Route Army, captured Yuezhou.
On February 28, he arrived in Xiangyin, defeated the newly established Hunan Navy, and captured Luo Zenan.
By March 5, Peng Yulin captured several important cities downstream of Fucheng in Changsha.
Zeng Guofan set up a fort on the west wall of Changsha and set up three lines of defense in the north of the city. These three lines of defense consisted of trenches and fortresses.
The trenches were all inserted with sharp wooden and bamboo thorns, and were two meters wide and three meters deep. Infantry was stationed below the fortress, and artillery batteries were placed above.
Zeng Guofan mobilized 50,000 civilians for this purpose.
Liu Rong, his counselor, said that it was "impenetrable and impenetrable, and only birds could not pass through it."
On March 6, Peng Yulin occupied Jinggang, an important town in the lower reaches of the Xiang River, which was the intersection of the Wei River and the Xiang River.
In the southeast and south of Changsha, the Second Division, led by Gu Keli, has arrived outside Changsha City.
Outside Changsha City, everything you see is turned up soil, trenches and bunkers.
Being able to build such fortifications in such a short period of time shows Zeng Guofan's ability.
Gu Keli did not launch an attack on Changsha City rashly.
He also dug a trench on the south and east sides of Changsha, firmly surrounding the east and south sides of Changsha City.
In the governor's office in Changsha City, Zeng Guofan was playing chess with Liu Rong.
As a personal aide, Liu Rong could clearly feel that Zeng Guofan was only calm on the outside at this time.
It can be seen from his moves when playing chess that he is no longer as calm as before.
Zeng Guoquan's life or death is unknown now. The person who came back from Liling to report the news was sent back in advance by Zeng Guoquan when he heard the explosion on the tower.
Now the outside has been completely blocked by the Renaissance Army people. Zeng Guofan can't get any more news at all.
All he can do is to hold on to the city and remain unchanged in the face of changes.
Peng Yulin led the instructors to disembark on the south bank of the Liuyang River estuary and build a camp along the river bank. Then they also built trenches on the north side of the Hunan Army trench in the north of the city.
The naval warships continued up the river to attack the forts built by Zeng Guofan on the riverside.
The gunboats of the Yangtze River Navy were equipped with the Renaissance Army's new breech-loaded artillery, which fired smokeless gunpowder shells. The range was far greater than the artillery purchased by the Hunan Army. At the same time, the warheads were also much more powerful than the old artillery.
Peng Yulin decided to have an artillery battle with the Hunan Army first.
The artillery on the naval gunboats was a 120mm main gun and two 75mm rapid-fire cannons. Six gunboats with 18 guns took the lead in firing shells at the Hunan Army's artillery positions.
Suddenly there were explosions from the fort built by the Hunan Army. The artillerymen of the fort could not even make any counterattack because the opponent was far beyond their shooting range.
The gunboat swept all the way up the Xiang River, destroying all the forts within its firing range.
The sound of gunfire spread throughout Changsha City. Zeng Guofan led his subordinates to the West City. They saw the Renaissance Army's gunboats shooting on the river and towards the shore, but their own forts did not fight back.
Confused, Zeng Guofan summoned his subordinates to lead the artillery camp.
"Why did only the Huaihai pirates fire? Why didn't our artillery fire back?" Zeng Guofan asked. The city wall along the river was originally converted into a fort, and a large number of artillery was deployed to prevent invading enemies on the river. Now it has become a target for the enemy.
.
Wang Xizai, the commander of the artillery battalion, quickly replied: "Sir, the enemy ship is more than twice the range of my artillery. The artillery at such a distance cannot attack the enemy at all."
"What difference can you possibly see in the enemy's artillery?"
"Sir, I have used a telescope to see that the Huaihai Pirates' artillery is indeed different. They seem to load from the tail and shoot very fast. Also, their gunpowder seems to have no smoke. The explosion of the cannon is also very powerful.
"
Wang Xizai, the artillery battalion commander, observed very carefully.
Zeng Guofan frowned, wondering where the Huaihai pirates got so many weapons.
Many of the artillery in Xiangjiang were bought from foreigners. Could it be that the Huai pirates are more skilled than the foreigners?
"Since you can't hit the enemy, then drag all the artillery behind." Zeng Guofan sighed and ordered Wang Xizai.
Everyone quickly left the west city wall under the leadership of Zeng Guofan. It was not safe here either. Huaihai Pirates' gunboats were sweeping in from north to south.
Liu Rong accidentally saw Zeng Guofan's eyes. The worry in his eyes was deeper than before.
In fact, Zeng Guofan really wanted to scold his mother at this moment. In the past, when he led troops to exterminate bandits, at least the weapons and equipment were similar.
What everyone fights for is the fighting method and the fighting will of the soldiers.
Now facing the Huaihai pirates, Zeng Guofan felt as if he had become the rebellious bandit. He was really a piece of shit. He was so inferior to others in terms of weapons. How could he fight this battle?
Soon the artillery of the Renaissance Army in the north and east of the city also arranged their positions. Under Peng Yulin's unified command, they simultaneously opened fire on the Hunan Army's positions. This movement was even louder than the gunboat attack just now. After all, they were two artillery regiments.
.
Under the fire of artillery fire, the fortresses arranged by the Hunan Army on the defense line were blown away one by one.
On the first day, Peng Yulin gave the Hunan Army a severe blow.
By the Liuyang River, the temporary headquarters of the middle road was built here.
The theme of the first day was shelling.
The infantry did not move forward to occupy the Hunan Army's defense line.
At night, the infantry of the Renaissance Army stayed in their trenches, and the navy patrolled the Xiangjiang River. The entire city of Changsha seemed like a cage.
The battlefield fell into a dead silence. Everything on the battlefield seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
The temporary headquarters, the instructor division and all the officers of the regiment and above of the second division, as well as the navy captain and above, are gathered here.
The entire army had just reunited, and Peng Yulin called everyone here to unify the strategy for the battle of Changsha.
"Everyone, before we set off, the president once told me that our purpose in fighting this war is to overthrow the decadent Manchu Qing government. Our current enemies are also our compatriots, and they will all be part of China in the future, so this war
The war should not cause too much killing, and we should try our best to preserve the vitality of China."
"So, before I attacked Hunan, I had already thought about it. The fastest way to capture Hunan was to surround Changsha and force Zeng Guofan to surrender. Zeng Guofan had a profound influence in Hunan. As long as he surrendered, the Hunan Army would surrender, and then Hunan would
We can go down without a fight."
"Commander, I heard that Zeng Guofan has always been stubborn and loyal to the court. Will he surrender?" Gu Keli asked.
"Haha, surrendering to our Renaissance Army does not mean surrendering to foreigners. When dynasties change, history books are always written by the victors. Zeng Guofan would not fail to understand this truth."
"He doesn't surrender now just because he doesn't have enough understanding of the current situation. What scholars care about most are two points, one is his posthumous name, and the other is the continuation of the family."
"We want him to understand that the Huai Navy will definitely defeat the Qing court now. So we have to show our strength. Today's artillery battle is the first step to destroy Zeng Guofan's confidence. Next, we will clear the defense line outside Changsha
.”
"In addition, we must pay close attention to the movements of the Hunan Army's reinforcements. We must never let a reinforcement enter Changsha."
"By the way, Mr. Gu, have you arrested Zeng Guoquan?" Peng Yulin turned to Gu Keli and asked.
"Yes, Commander, are you planning to use this person to blackmail Zeng Guofan?"
"Zeng Guofan is a man of firm determination. Just a younger brother cannot threaten him. You can send someone to send him over later. I will be of great use." Peng Yulin said with a smile, as if he had a good idea in his mind.
Everyone discussed for a while and then everyone returned to their respective places.
Peng Yulin asked someone to find two maps, one was a map of Changsha's capital city, and the other was a map of the Qing Dynasty.
He also found a piece of vermilion ink and began to draw on the desk.
Zeng Guofan moved all his family to the city, and the surrounding people also moved into the city. All the men were recruited as Ding to help the Hunan army build fortifications, while the women were responsible for washing, cooking, and even making arrows.
Changsha City was turned into a military city by Zeng Guofan, and there was no shortage of food in the city for the time being.
But seeing the artillery of the Renaissance Army today made Zeng Guofan very worried.
Hunan Governor's Yamen.
At this time, all the senior generals of the city's defenders were gathered here.
Zeng Guofan first tallied today's battle losses with the generals.
In less than a day, the Fuxing Army had not yet launched an offensive, and the Hunan Army had lost more than a thousand people relying solely on artillery.
Needless to say, Zeng Guofan said that all the generals sitting here were as disgraced as roosters who had lost a fight.
"Everyone, the Huaihai pirates have sharp artillery, but you don't need to be like this. Our Changsha city wall is strong. I think the Huaihai navy's artillery is not enough to destroy the city wall. Even if the outer defense line is lost, we still have the city wall to defend. For now
The only plan is to hold back the Huai Navy and wait for the arrival of the imperial reinforcements."
Zeng Guofan encouraged the generals.
The city defense arrangements have already been made, and today Zeng Guofan asked his generals to come over to boost morale.
He knew that the daytime bombardment must have caused great damage to the morale of the Hunan Army, because even he himself was stimulated, let alone others?
After everyone left, Zeng Guofan didn't rest. He looked at the map and was lost in thought.
In Peng Yulin's camp of the Central Route Army, a man who looked like Kong Wu was brought into the camp with his hands tied behind his back.
After Zeng Guoquan was captured, he has been detained by the Second Division. He did not have the courage to commit suicide. He still had a glimmer of hope in his heart that maybe his elder brother would save him.
However, he did not suffer any injustice after being arrested.
Tonight, someone suddenly came and took him away.
He had a bad idea, maybe there was a war, and he wanted to kill himself to sacrifice the flag. He heard the continuous sound of artillery outside from the rear today.
An officer and four soldiers sent him to a camp tent, where a middle-aged man in military uniform was writing and drawing on the table.
"Kill or scrape, please do whatever you want. I, Zeng Guoquan, will not surrender."
Zeng Guoquan knew that this man must be a high official, and perhaps wanted to persuade him to surrender. Zeng Guoquan was also a man, and would not surrender to the enemy and embarrass his elder brother.
"Well, yes, he is a tough guy, worthy of being Zeng Disheng's younger brother." Peng Yulin said in authentic Hunan dialect.
"You, are you from Hunan?" Zeng Guoquan looked at the man with wide eyes and said.
"I am Peng Yulin, a native of Hengyang, Hengzhou Prefecture."
Zeng Guoquan was extremely surprised. This was Peng Yulin? Although Peng Yulin's name was not as good as that of his elder brother in Hunan, he was still well-known to everyone.
"General Peng, since you are from Hunan, why did you bring Jianghuai troops to attack Hunan?" Zeng Guoquan said with pretended disdain.
"Hunan is the Hunan of China. Our Renaissance Army is already going to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty, so we will naturally take over Hunan. Could it be that your Zeng family wants to dominate Hunan?"
Zeng Guoquan was a vulgar martial artist, and he could not speak up to Peng Yulin with his words. He was rendered speechless by Peng Yulin after a few words.
"Zeng Laojiu, I think your brother is considered a talented person in Hunan, and I don't want your family to be buried with the Manchus."
"Today, I came to you just to let you go."
"Let me go? I have made it clear, I will not surrender. Please help you persuade my elder brother to surrender."
"I don't need you to persuade your elder brother to surrender. I just want you to give him a few words. Just say that I, Peng Yulin, don't want the people of Hunan to live in ruins. The Renaissance Army is just to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty and revive China. We Han people will not fight Han people."
At this time, Peng Yulin took out the map with dried ink on the table, rolled it up, put it in a bamboo tube, and handed it to Zeng Guoquan.
"There are also these two maps, bring them to your elder brother. In addition, tell him that our Renaissance Army will take all the outer defense lines of Changsha City tomorrow. If he has figured it out by then, he can go to the city to talk about it."
After saying this, he was asked to bring Zeng Guoquan to the Hunan Army's defense line and release him.
At night, Zeng Guofan was still standing in front of the map. He was a very self-disciplined and diligent person.
"Sir, General Zeng is back."
Zeng Guofan seemed a little unhappy when someone interrupted his thinking.
"Zeng Jiangjun? Which Zeng Jiangjun?"
"It's Master Jiu, he's back."
"Humph, he still has the nerve to come back." Zeng Guofan seemed displeased on the surface, but he was relieved in his heart. Among all the brothers and sisters in the family, he loved this younger brother the most.
"Let him come in, but I want to ask, how did he lose Liling?"
After a while, a disgraced Zeng Guoquan walked in.
"Do you still have the nerve to come back?" Zeng Guofan said with a straight face.
"Brother, Lao Jiu knows that he is wrong, but the Renaissance Army is really powerful. All my men died in the battle."
"Revival Army, that's what you call the Huaihai pirates?"
"Brother, they call themselves the Renaissance Army, which is the former Huaihai Navy." Zeng Guoquan told all the news he heard from Peng Yulin.
After Zeng Guofan heard this, he felt that his knowledge was about to be subverted.
Shandong has been under the management of Huai Haijun. Hubei's Zuo Jigao turned out to be from Huai Haijun!
The commander-in-chief on the opposite side turned out to be the famous Peng Yulin from Hunan.
What exactly happened during this period of time when I, Ding You, was in trouble? Zeng Guofan couldn't help but ask himself in his heart.
"Oh, brother, that Peng Yulin asked me to bring you two maps. He also said that he did not want the lives of Hunan to be ruined and that the people of Hunan did not want to die for the Manchu Tatars. He also said that the Han people would not fight the Han people." Zeng Guoquan added,
Then he handed the map in his hand to Zeng Guofan.
Zeng Guofan glanced at Lao Jiu and said, "Do you think what he said makes sense?"
"Well... uh, no, brother, I will listen to you." Zeng Guoquan responded subconsciously, but then he felt that he had said the wrong thing.
Zeng Guofan glanced at him sideways, and then picked up the map.