That night, the Nguyen Dynasty's army retreated to camp five miles south of the city.
When the Nguyen Dynasty army retreated, Chen Yucheng did not pursue the victory. All his troops were on the city wall, and there was no way to rush outside the city in time to pursue the enemy.
So I could only watch these people retreat, but these Ruan Dynasty troops retreated in a hurry.
They didn't even have time to clean up the battlefield. Chen Yucheng ordered the Vietnamese civilians in the city to go out of the city to clean up the battlefield.
This time, he suddenly had six to seven thousand sets of weapons in his hands.
Chen Yucheng picked out the better muskets among them to replenish the losses of his men. When fighting against foreign troops, it would be difficult for them to get weapons replenished in time. Muskets are consumables, especially the barrels that have a limited service life.
of.
The muskets were okay, and their own blacksmiths could sometimes make them for use, but they couldn't make the barrels of the rifled guns themselves. They had to go to the Renaissance Army to buy them.
There are many good things in the hands of the Renaissance Army, but these things cannot be bought if they want to. They do not like the conditions proposed by the Renaissance Army. It seems that they are the marionettes of the Renaissance Army. The Holy King does not want to let the Taiping Army
Become a vassal of others.
When they came out from Guangxi, they also considered that the Taiping Army was not the opponent of the Renaissance Army.
Of course, the Renaissance Army also gave the Taiping Army very favorable conditions at that time, and their current men and a lot of equipment were obtained at that time.
Now the Taiping Army does not lack money or people, it just lacks stable supplies.
Chen Yucheng felt that he should first make compromises with the Fuxing Army and improve his capabilities first. As for the Fuxing Army letting them develop westward, so what?
After learning about the territory assigned to them by the Renaissance Army, Shi Dakai and his confidants studied the intentions of the Renaissance Army.
They even found people from the caravan to learn about the situation.
Another route for caravans in the southwest is through Myitkyina in Myanmar to the Indian region in the west. In fact, it is more precise to enter the Tusi territory on the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra River.
It is now bordering the British influence, but the British only control the important ports in the southern coastal area. For the inland areas, the British support and manage the feudal states one by one.
The area in western Myanmar where the Renaissance Army wanted them to go was under the management of small princely states.
Therefore, the intention of the Renaissance Army is very obvious, which is to let them fight against the British.
Shi Dakai and others also have some understanding of the strength of the British. At least they are much stronger than the Qing army. As for how they compare with the Renaissance Army, that is not clear.
Therefore, Chen Yucheng feels that the British army is probably stronger than the Taiping army under his command.
Dong Shuheng's purpose of letting them fight against the British is very obvious. He wanted the Taiping Army to create a barrier between the British and China in the southwest. Perhaps Dong Shuheng did not want to go to war with the British directly.
Not giving it to the Taiping Army is not without benefits. At least when the time comes to fight the British, the Renaissance Army will definitely support them in terms of equipment.
By then they would have the capital to bargain with the Fuxing Army. But Chen Yucheng didn't know the Holy King's thoughts yet.
After all, they are still thousands of miles away from their final destination.
However, Chen Yucheng at least knew that the Holy King was not prepared to control Vietnam, because the Holy King knew that sooner or later, the northern part of Vietnam would also be the food of the Renaissance Army.
They had already seen clearly that Dong Shuheng wanted to follow the example of the Han and Tang Dynasties in opening up new territories, so the land of ancient Jiaozhou would definitely be taken back.
Their purpose in Vietnam this time was to take advantage of the chaos here to make a big profit. At the same time, they also created conditions and laid the groundwork for the Renaissance Army to enter here in the future.
Not only gold and silver goods, food supplies, but also young and healthy people are all needed by the Taiping Army.
In the entire southeastern peninsula, Northern Vietnam is considered relatively prosperous. It is close to China and is deeply influenced by China.
Chen Yucheng can feel that the living habits and cultural environment here are very similar to those in Guangxi.
Including the ethnic composition of the people, they are all composed of a few common ethnic groups.
If it weren't for the fact that this place was so close to China, Chen Yucheng felt that this place could be used as a place of domination.
If the Holy King becomes king here, Chen Yucheng is sure to conquer the entire Vietnam.
But it doesn't work, because the one in the north doesn't allow it.
Chen Yucheng had a lot on his mind, but the most important thing now was to deal with the enemy in front of him, so that they would have enough time to move to the west.
As for the subsequent armies of the Nguyen Dynasty, they will be left to the local rebels. In the end, it is estimated that the Renaissance Army will also intervene, so that is not something Dong Shuheng needs to consider.
Because in Beiqi, many people have joined the Taiping Army, and their current team has once again increased by hundreds of thousands. Perhaps this time when they move westward, their Taiping Army may grow to 400,000 or 500,000, and at least two of them will
One hundred thousand young and strong men, and more than fifty thousand veterans.
Such a large number of people can be compared to the number of people in a small country. Chen Yucheng felt that with so many of them, as long as they were not blocked by the combination of these effects in the south and ran out of ammunition and food, they could almost walk sideways there.
Today's victory over the Nguyen Dynasty's army gave a great boost to the morale of the rebels in the city.
The Nguyen Dynasty army that used to suppress the rebels now seems to be no more than that.
The rebels in Beiqi were completely frightened by the Ruan Dynasty. Every time the uprising failed, the Ruan Dynasty would kill in Beiqi.
Once so many rebels were killed that the Red River was covered with corpses.
It can be said that the rebels here in Beiqi were completely afraid of being killed by the Ruan Dynasty army. The reason why they have not spoken out in the past two years is because of fear.
However, after the Taiping Army came in, because the combat power of the Taiping Army was more than one level higher than that of the Nguyen Dynasty defenders in Beiqi, it gave the rebels the feeling that the Nguyen Dynasty's army was nothing more than a country dog.
Now Holy King Shida is driving in the rear, collecting supplies while supporting the local rebels. It is impossible for all of these people to be willing to follow him, because there are many ambitious people among them, and these people will not be willing to live under someone else's fence.
Therefore, Shi Dakai planned to keep this part of the rebel army and let them separatize Beiqi.
In this way, these people can help themselves block the Nguyen Dynasty's army.
Moreover, Shi Dakai can also have a good relationship with these people.
Of course, Shi Dakai is not stupid. Putting a place as big as Beiqi in the hands of these people will always bring great benefits.
Now these rebels are also paupers, but in the future they will have to pay back when they have money and food.
The next day, the Nguyen Dynasty's army continued to attack the city, but it was still not ideal, but this time the casualties were not so heavy.
Chen Yucheng could tell that these people seemed to be waiting for reinforcements from behind.
Since the enemy was unwilling to attack the city with all their strength, Chen Yucheng stopped playing with them.
He left a small number of troops to confuse the enemy, and organized rebels in the city to take over the city's defenses.
And he himself led the main force to fight back to Hanoi.
The rebels in Hanoi City are connecting in series, and they are ready to cooperate with the Taiping Army in attacking the city.
In the camp outside the city, Chen Yucheng met a main leader of the rebel army.
This person's name is Nong Zhiduo, and he is a member of the Zhuang ethnic group. Like Guangxi, there are many Zhuang ethnic groups in Beiqi.
Chen Yucheng was also born in Guangxi, so after meeting Nong Zhiduo, it was like meeting a fellow countryman. There was no barrier to language communication at all. Everyone spoke Guangxi dialect.
"Hello, Commander Nong." Chen Yucheng greeted Nong Zhi one more time. He was a man in his forties with a dark face and rough skin, just like an old farmer.
"General Chen, you're welcome, Nong excuses you." Nong Zhiduo said modestly. He looked rough, but his words were extremely gentle, like a scholar. There is a reason why Nong Zhiduo was so polite. After all, they are now
Still attached to the Taiping Army.
The two sides have reached a tacit agreement. The Taiping Army takes money and people, and their Beiqi rebel army finally gets the territory. From then on, Beiqi will provide materials worth one million taels of silver to the Taiping Army every year.
However, this is still a good deal for the rebels. After all, they have no confidence in taking down Beiqi on their own.
Nong Zhi was more polite and then got down to business: "General, our forces deployed in the city are almost ready. Now we need the general to organize a large-scale attack to attract all the defenders in the city to the city wall. It's convenient.
Our people are making trouble in the city."
"Seriously?" Chen Yucheng was a little excited after hearing this. I am afraid that half of Beiqi's wealth is in Hanoi City.
As long as they capture this city, their Taiping Army will have completed their strategic mission in Beiqi, and they can then start moving to the west.
"General, please rest assured that Hanoi is the center of Beiqi. The people we put in Hanoi City are the most trustworthy people. I have already contacted the people in the city and there will definitely be no problem." Nong Zhiduo patted his chest.
Guaranteed.
"Commander Nong, it's not that Chen doesn't believe you, it's just that this is an important time and we must be cautious. The commander will rest in the tent until Chen deploys the attack on the city." Chen Yucheng said, although he expected that Nong Zhiduo would not dare to attack the city.
He lied in front of him, but he still had to be detained here. Fortunately, Nong Zhiduo didn't ask to leave.
"Yes, then Nong will not disturb General Chen." Nong Zhiduo stood up to leave and went to rest with Chen Yucheng's personal guards.
Subsequently, Chen Yucheng invited generals at all levels in the army to discuss the division of labor for the siege.
Since it is necessary to attract all the defenders in the city, it cannot be achieved by a simple feint attack.
Nong Zhiduo and the others do not have many people lurking in the city. As he said just now, they can only organize a few hundred people, and these people must be used on the edge of the sword.
Chen Yucheng believed that at least one of the city gates should be in danger of destroying the city.
Now that the ideas have been sorted out, the next step will be easier.
Fortunately, a few days ago, the besieging army not only cut off the water in the moat, but also dug a tunnel outside the west gate leading to the city wall.
Digging tunnels and blowing up city walls was often used when the Taiping Army first started their uprising.
After the Taiping Army rebelled, almost half of the cities along the way from Guangxi to Jiangning were opened in this way.
Naturally, the Taiping Army would not abandon this craft.
It's just that the groundwater here in Hanoi is relatively abundant, so it's really not easy to dig tunnels. Fortunately, they have many Vietnamese civilians in their hands now.
These Vietnamese rebels seemed to be more active in capturing Hanoi than the Taiping Army.
Because Hanoi is the ancient capital of Vietnam, as long as it is captured, it will have important symbolic significance. This means that they have the ability to compete with the Nguyen Dynasty.
The separation of the north and the south is common in the history of Vietnam. North Qi is obviously an area deeply influenced by Chinese culture, and it has been under Chinese rule for most of the time since ancient times. Compared with South Qi, it is like two countries.
.
In the evening of that day, the Taiping Army launched an attack on the four city walls. For a while, the sound of cannons roared. Hanoi's city defenses were strong and the city walls were covered with artillery. In an artillery battle, the Taiping Army did not have the upper hand.
The Taiping Army's offensive was very loud, but it was the Vietnamese rebels under Chen Yucheng who really rushed to the front.
Just when the battle was at its most intense, the attacking troops outside the west gate suddenly retreated.
Then, the ground shook and a dull explosion came from the ground.
In the luxuriously appointed garrison palace in the city, a group of dignitaries from Beiqi gathered here to discuss military affairs.
The war was tense, and the garrison hoped that the big families in the city would provide money to reward the three armies to boost their morale.
But these people have been talking loudly here and have not yet given a strategy.
The sudden vibration made everyone think it was an earth dragon turning over, and some timid ones were so frightened that they hid under the table.
The guard envoy Chen Jiahui ran outside the room and looked in the direction of the west city. He shouted that it was bad, and then led the remaining soldiers and horses in the mansion to support him.
It turned out that the explosion was caused by the Taiping Army detonating explosives buried in the tunnel.
With this loud noise, a large section of the city wall on one side of the city gate collapsed.
After a while, the smoke and dust dissipated, and the large gap in the city wall could finally be seen clearly. The fallen bricks and stones formed two slopes on both sides of the city wall.
"Kill!"
A deafening sound of charging and killing rang out, and those at the forefront were the Vietnamese rebels under the Taiping Army.
They held a variety of swords, guns, swords and halberds high, roaring and charging forward.
The Taiping Army followed closely with muskets. All other city walls were also restrained by the siege troops.
At this time, the city could only send the final reserve team to the city wall to block the gap. Even the guard Chen Jiahui personally went into battle with his personal guards.
At this time, there were several houses in the city, and some young men with weapons were hiding in the courtyards.
It can be seen from their attire that these people come from all walks of life, but most of them are from low-level industries.
They all heard the explosion at the city wall. But they did not move because the signal to take action had not been sent out yet.
As all the troops in the city arrived at the gap in the city wall, the two sides began to fight for the gap.
Taiping troops fired at the gap from the left and right wings, killing and injuring the defenders inside.
All the rebels outside the city rushed in and fought with the Ruan Dynasty army.
At this time, Chen Yucheng did not care about accidental injuries and shot directly at the two sides fighting together.
At the same time, a group of people were also divided to occupy the city gate from the horse path inside the city.
At the beginning, the Taiping Army had the advantage. After all, no one expected that the city wall would be blown down.
The Taiping Army has secretly placed its main force outside the west gate, but the garrison on top of the city is evenly distributed on the four walls.
For defending a city, this is the best and safest method when the enemy's main attack direction cannot be determined.
With the arrival of reinforcements from the city, the rebel forces that had penetrated the inside of the gap gradually became exhausted.
However, they had bought enough time for the Taiping Army.
The city gate was already in the hands of the Taiping Army. At this time, the Taiping Army could rely on the city gate tower to shoot downwards, taking full advantage.
Just as the two sides were in a state of anxiety at the city gate, a fire suddenly broke out in the garrison of the city. The fire was particularly dazzling with the red afterglow of the sunset in the evening.
It turned out that the rebels in the city suddenly launched their attack, captured the garrison and set off a huge fire.
The Nguyen Dynasty troops who were resisting at the city gate were immediately thrown into confusion when they saw a fire in the city and in the direction of the guarding envoy's palace.
At this time, shouts of killing were also heard from the streets in the city, and the defenders in the city, fearing that they would be attacked from both sides, retreated one after another.
Chen Yucheng commanded the army to take the opportunity to cover up the killing. When it got dark, sporadic fighting in the city was not over yet, but the overall situation was decided.
Some troops have already begun to search the high-rise residences and compounds in the city. All belongings have been confiscated by the Taiping Army.
However, the Taiping Army did not kill innocent people indiscriminately. After all, they only wanted money.
These people thought they had escaped, and some were even grateful that their cellars had not been discovered. However, when the rebels entered the city for the second round of raids two days later, they were not so gentle. After all, these people still did not escape.
Tribulation.
The evil they had done to the rebels had now been repaid.
Chen Yucheng occupied a mansion as the temporary headquarters of the Taiping Army. Boxes of goods were transported by the soldiers and piled in the courtyard of the mansion, while the clerks were nervously doing the registration work.
This city belongs to the Taiping Army for the time being and will be handed over to the rebels in two days.
ps: I'm sorry for the late update. I still have to go to work, take care of my children, and do housework, so I can't completely control my time. My wife is not in good health, so I have to bear all these things alone. I hope you can understand.