Shang Yi was also very aware of Hong Chengchou's measures in Hangzhou after he arrived in Nanjing.
In the past, the Qing army had a big weakness, that is, the command in Jiangbei and Jiangnan was not unified. Although Azig and Duduo were brothers and would not undermine each other, after all, there was no one person who was fully responsible. Jiangbei and Jiangnan often had their own affairs. In preparation for the war, it also gave the merchant army an opportunity to deal with it calmly. Now that Azige has returned to the north, Hong Chengchou and Duduo are both in Nanjing, and the Qing army has also formed a unified headquarters. In this way, Jiangbei and Jiangnan can coordinate operations. There will be more situations, and future wars will be more complicated.
But of course Shang Yi would not wait for the Qing army to be ready before attacking him. Ever since the merchant army captured Chuzhou and Hezhou in Jiangbei, both sides had stopped fighting for more than a month, and Shang Yi also hurriedly During this rare and precious time, the expansion of the merchant army in Zhejiang was initially completed. The first and third armies of the merchant army are currently stationed in Zhejiang.
After the expansion, the First Army includes five divisions and three brigades, with a total strength of more than 70,000; the Third Army has two divisions and three brigades, including a cavalry division and a special brigade, with a total strength of 40,000. Two thousand. The weapon allocation rate has also reached about 80%. Basic combat troops are guaranteed to have weapons.
Moreover, the Yangtze River Fleet attached to the Navy has also been initially established. The deputy commander of the Navy also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Yangtze River Fleet. The newly formed Yangtze River Fleet has a total of ninety-four warships, more than 5,000 soldiers, and a base. There are three squadrons near Tongzhou at the mouth of the Yangtze River:
First Squadron: Commander He Bin, including two third-level cruisers, three fourth-level destroyers, eight fifth-level frigates, eight warships with a charge of less than 500, and ten warships with a charge of less than 300. Mainly: He was responsible for fighting on the Yangtze River from its mouth to Nanjing.
Second, the third fleet: Commander Yi Jixuan, South Asia Tiger, including two fourth-level destroyers, five fifth-level frigates, ten warships with a charge of less than 600, and fifteen warships with a charge of less than 300. The main task is to carry out operations deep in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
Although it is not the time to recapture Nanjing yet, the merchant army in the Jiangnan area has made sufficient preparations and can take the initiative to launch an attack on the Qing army. The Qing army is currently reorganizing and has not yet prepared a full response. When preparing, first fight a few victorious battles in the surrounding areas of Nanjing and gradually clear the periphery of Nanjing. This will not only annihilate the effective forces of the Qing army, but also make full preparations for the recapture of Nanjing at the end of the year.
Therefore, Shang Yi also decided to divide his troops into two fronts, the north and the south, and launch an attack on the Qing army at the same time.
The southern front, led by Cheng Jin, dispatched three divisions and two brigades of the First Army, with a total of 45,000 troops, to attack Guangde Prefecture and attack the south of Nanjing. The northern front, on the other hand, advanced simultaneously through floods and droughts. Yang Wucheng led the army and dispatched one division and two brigades of the Third Army, totaling 25,000 troops, to attack Zhenjiang Prefecture. Huang Zhen also led the Yangtze River Fleet to attack, supporting the operation from the river and attacking the east of Nanjing.
Guangde Prefecture is the only way to enter Hangzhou Prefecture from Nanjing, and Zhenjiang is the gateway to the east of Nanjing. It is less than a hundred miles away from Nanjing. If we can successfully capture these two places, even if we only capture one, The Merchant Army will then be able to gain a certain degree of initiative in the Jiangnan battlefield, and the difficulty of recapturing Nanjing will be much smaller.
Moreover, in this battle, the merchant army launched fewer frontal attacks on state-level cities. Therefore, this was also a practice for the merchant army's ability to attack medium and large cities head-on, and accumulated combat experience for future attacks on Nanjing or other large cities.
.
The merchant army and the Qing army fought for several times in Guangzhou, and they were already very familiar with the terrain here. After Shang Yi's order was issued, Cheng Jin immediately sent troops from Huzhou, divided into two groups, and attacked Si'an Town along the way.
, the other group attacked Kuling Pass and launched an attack on Guangde Prefecture.
Precisely because Guangde Prefecture is a battleground for both sides, although the Qing army is currently being reorganized, heavy troops are still stationed to defend Guangde Prefecture. The general of the Qing army defending Guangde Prefecture is Mele Erzhenzhuoluo with a white flag. The defenders have
Twenty-five thousand troops, including more than 7,000 Manchu troops and 10,000 Han troops
There are more than 2,000 people, including three Manqi armors and six Han army armors. There are also more than 70 artillery pieces, 20 red cannons and 20 thunder cannons each, and more than 5,000 firecrackers, and others.
There are also a number of weapons such as thunderbolt rockets and thunderbolts, so the defense force is quite sufficient.
The Merchant Army launched an offensive on April 26. First, on that day, when the Fifth Division killed Si'an Town, the Qing Army's 1,000 defenders left in Si'an Town abandoned their formation and fled back to Guangde.
After the Fifth Division took over Si'an Town, Li Ji went straight to Guangde Prefecture.
However, the other way to attack the 1st Division of Kulingguan encountered some obstacles. Because the terrain of Kulingguan was dangerous, there was only a narrow mountain road leading to Guancheng. Therefore, the 3,000 soldiers left behind by the Qing army, led by the general Kubai,
It was decided to stay in the pass for a few days to block the merchant army's attack, and then wait for an opportunity to retreat.
The First Division immediately launched an attack on Kuling Pass. Under the cover of artillery fire, the soldiers of the Third Regiment responsible for the main attack rushed towards Guancheng very bravely along the rugged and narrow mountain road. Because the mountain road was too narrow, it was difficult to
The young soldiers simply walked through the mountains and forests and fought towards Kuling Pass.
However, precisely because the attack was not spread over a large area, the First Division's artillery was able to concentrate its firepower and bombard Guancheng, which also dealt a heavy blow to the Qing army defending the city. The attacking soldiers also quickly approached the city wall.
Then they threw grenades at the city wall. For a moment, the grenades were thrown at the city wall of Kulingguan like raindrops, and the explosion only caused the Qing troops on the city wall to scream.
The soldiers of the Third Regiment also took advantage of this opportunity, set up ladders, climbed to the city tower, and then threw grenades violently, scattering the defenders, captured the city wall, and then opened the city gate, allowing the subsequent army to enter.
Kuling
Guanli. The whole battle only lasted for more than an hour. The merchant army captured Kuling Pass and opened up another road to attack Guangde Prefecture. The Qing army killed more than 800 people, and the rest abandoned the pass and fled back.
Arrive in Guangdezhou.
Zhuo Luo, who was guarding Guangde Prefecture, did not expect that Si'an Town and Kuling Pass could withstand the merchant army's attack, so he did not pay much attention to the loss of these two places. He collected the defeated soldiers and guarded them tightly.
Guangde Prefecture. Moreover, he had already sent people to Nanjing to ask Hong Chengchou and Duduo to send troops to rescue. However, it would take at least five days for the reinforcements to arrive from Nanjing to Guangde Prefecture.
Zhuo Luo has fought against the Merchant Army many times. He has fought all kinds of battles. He knows that the Merchant Army likes to directly blast open the city wall with fierce artillery fire, or destroy the city's defense, and then attack the city wall.
launched an attack, and the Qing Army also made many targeted arrangements.
Although the city wall in Guangzhou is not as good as that of big cities like Nanjing and Fengyang, it is much stronger than ordinary county towns. It is made of stones as a shell more than three feet thick and filled with bad soil, so it has a relatively strong ability to withstand attacks.
, it was not easy for the merchant army to blast it away with artillery. At the same time, they also added additional walls to the battlements.
The walls were thickened so that the soldiers could hide behind them to avoid the artillery fire of the Merchant Army. At the same time, a large number of mud and sand bags were prepared and stacked on the city wall. After the city wall was blown down, they were prepared to immediately fill the gap with the mud and sand bags and then fire the gun soldiers.
He and the archers continued to guard the gap and resist the attack of the merchant army.
It can be said that the preparations of the Qing army were very thorough, and they fully considered various situations and made corresponding arrangements. Zhuoluo also felt that he should be able to hold on until reinforcements arrived.
On April 27, the merchant army launched an attack on Guangde Prefecture.
The Merchant Army's attack was launched on three sides. The First Division focused on the east gate of Guangde Prefecture, the Fifth Division focused on the south gate of Guangde Prefecture, and the 10th Division focused on the west gate of Guangde Prefecture, leaving only the north gate to allow the defenders a chance to escape.
.The fifth and twelfth brigades are in preparation
Because the reinforcements of the Qing army will arrive soon, the attack time of the Merchant Army is estimated to be only five days, so Cheng Jin also decided that the first four days will be auxiliary preparations, and the fifth day will launch a full-scale attack on Guangde Prefecture, in one fell swoop
Capture Guangde Prefecture.
Facing the merchant army's three-sided attack, Zhuo Luo also allocated troops to each city to defend with all his strength. But he soon discovered that the merchant army's siege tactics seemed a little different from before, because the merchant army was setting up artillery.
While bombarding the city gate, trenches were also dug in the open space outside the city.
Of course, it is not uncommon for the Merchant Army to dig trenches, because in the past, the Merchant Army often used trenches to lay out defense lines and defend themselves during battles with the Qing Army, which also caused a huge blow to the Qing Army.
The enthusiasm for trenches is even greater than defending the city wall. Moreover, Zoro also knows that the standard equipment of an ordinary merchant army includes a shovel or pickaxe, which is used for digging trenches.
But what Zhuo Luo finds incomprehensible is that the trenches used by the merchant army are generally used to lay out defense lines, but what is the use of digging trenches when attacking a city? Is it to prevent the defenders in the city from counterattacking? It seems that there is no need for this.
.It was used to block reinforcements, but it was too close to the city wall, because the trenches dug by the merchant army were only three to four hundred steps away from the city wall of Guangzhou. If they were to block reinforcements at this distance, they could lead their troops from the city.
They fought their way out and attacked the merchant army from both front and back.
So what exactly is the Merchant Army planning to do? Zhuo Luo doesn't think that the Merchant Army will do meaningless things. After all, the Merchant Army's tactics are so diverse that it's hard to figure them out.
But while the merchant army was digging trenches, the artillery deployed outside the city was not idle. They kept firing at the city walls of Guangdezhou. Although the frequency of bombardment was not very fast, it also made the Qing army dare not have any
Not relaxing at all, Zhuoluo also ran back and forth between the east, west and south cities, directing his artillery to fight back, so he forgot to think about the trenches.