Just when Shang Yi rushed to Fujian in person to help Zheng Chenggong raise troops to fight against the Qing Dynasty, Li Dingguo and Li Yan in the Hubei theater also launched an attack on the Qing army. This was the first time that the merchant army took the initiative to attack the Qing army after advancing into the Dabie Mountains and avoiding the Hubei theater.
The army launched an attack.
At this time, Li Dingguo and Li Yan had already received the news. After Hong Chengchou and Lek Dehun returned to Nanjing, they immediately began to mobilize troops from various places to prepare for launching the fourth war of suppression against the merchant army in Hubei. Moreover, the size of the Qing army this time was
It may be larger than the previous one, and the total force is expected to exceed 100,000.
Before Shang Yi went to Fujian, the United Front Work Department had ordered to the Hubei theater to formally establish the Sixth Army, with Li Dingguo as commander, Huang Qingwen as deputy commander, and Li Mou as chief of staff, with jurisdiction over the ninth division, the eighteenth division, the third brigade, and the second brigade.
Twelve Brigades.
At this time, all the troops had been reorganized, with a total strength of about 35,000. Li Dingguo and Li Yan reported to the United Front Work Department for approval of the commanders of each division and brigade. In addition, militia troops were also organized.
Nearly 6,000 people. At the same time, Zhejiang also sent
Weapons and ammunition were replenished, and the weapons and equipment of each unit were complete. We also received a batch of mines, thunderbolt rockets and some heavy artillery, and formally established an artillery regiment in the Ninth Division, which was also the first
The only artillery unit in the Sixth Army.
Now in the entire Huangzhou Prefecture, only Huangzhou, Qishui County, and Qizhou are still under the control of the Qing army, and these three places are located along the Yangtze River. The Qing army can only hide in the city, behind the city walls
All areas outside the country have been occupied by merchant armies, and land transportation has been completely cut off. The Qing armies in the three places can only communicate with each other through waterways.
It can be said that the Hubei War Zone is now fully prepared for battle. Therefore, Li Dingguo and Li Yan also decided to take a preemptive strike. Before the Qing army has assembled its forces, they will first send troops to occupy the entire Huangzhou Prefecture, and then attack from behind.
Qing army's attack.
The first target for the Merchant Army to capture was Qishui County, because Qishui is located right between Huangzhou and Qizhou. Taking Qishui County first can also completely cut off the connection between Huangzhou and Qizhou, and then attack Huangzhou.
Qizhou was defeated one by one.
In this attack on Qishui County, Li Dingguo decided that the 3rd Brigade and the 22nd Brigade would be responsible for the main attack, while the 18th Division would be responsible for blocking the reinforcements from Huangzhou and Qizhou. If reinforcements were sent from these two places, the 9th Division would stay behind in Macheng County.
.Because Qishui is a county town, the Qing army does not have many troops to guard it, and it is relatively easy to fight. Therefore, all the troops dispatched are newly organized troops, so that the new recruits can gain some combat experience so that they can deal with more difficult battles in the future.
At this time, the focus of the Qing army's defense in the Huangzhou Prefecture area was Huangzhou, followed by Qizhou. Qishui County was not considered at all. Those who guarded Qishui County were only some local troops who surrendered, just because
Qishui County
It happens to be located between Huangzhou and Qizhou. During this period of time, the merchant army has been busy repairing, expanding and resuming work, so the Qing army has been controlling Qishui County. In fact, in Shangshan's heart, Qishui had already been
The county gave up.
Sure enough, after Li Dingguo led his troops to Qishui County, he first carried out fire suppression under the city, and then sent assault troops to attack the city. However, the Qing army only resisted slightly and soon dispersed. The merchant army easily invaded Qishui.
county,
Many soldiers left Huangzhou without even firing a shot, and Qizhou did not send any reinforcements. This result also made Li Dingguo a little depressed, because this battle basically had little training value for the new soldiers, and could only be regarded as
Come and make some soy sauce.
However, it was a good thing to capture another county town. Next, there were Huangzhou and Qizhou. Li Dingguo also immediately summoned the military headquarters, divisions, and brigade-level officers to hold a meeting to discuss which place to attack first.
Now we have basically reconnoitred the distribution of the Qing army. There are about 8,000 troops stationed in Qizhou, as well as a small number of muskets and artillery. Therefore, it is obviously not difficult to attack Qizhou, but Qizhou is located in the southeast of Huangzhou Prefecture.
, the geographical location is relatively far away, and it is not a strategic location.
Huangzhou is the seat of Huangzhou Prefecture, and it is also located in the center of Huangzhou Prefecture. It has a good geographical location. However, Huangzhou is also a city that the Qing army focuses on defending. There are about 27,000 defenders.
There are also a large number of artillery and muskets, so it is much more difficult to capture Huangzhou.
But at the meeting, most of the generals of the Sixth Army were inclined to attack Huangzhou first. Because once Huangzhou was captured and the headquarters of the Sixth Army was moved to Huangzhou, it would be difficult for them to command and deploy the entire Huangzhou Prefecture area.
It is of course very convenient to fight and meet the Qing army's large forces. And
And once Huangzhou is defeated, isn't Qizhou already captured? Although Huangzhou's garrison is strong, they are all defeated after the Qing army failed to attack Hubei for the third time. To the Sixth Army, they are just their own men.
The defeated general, therefore, felt that there was nothing remarkable about him.
Seeing that almost all the generals advocated attacking Huangzhou first, Li Dingguo also felt that there was nothing wrong. In his opinion, there was not much difference between attacking Huangzhou first and Qizhou first. They both had to be attacked anyway, so he decided this way.
came down and sent a report to the United Front Work Department in Hangzhou that they had recaptured Qishui County and were preparing to attack Huangzhou.
Shang Yi returned to Hangzhou on August 27th, and in the Zhejiang area, the cross-sea raiding fleet had made all preparations at this time, and was scheduled to set off from Hangzhou on August 30th.
This was the most critical and uncertain mission. Therefore, Shang Yi only rested for one night in Hangzhou, and then immediately rushed to the naval base to attend the send-off of the fleet as it set sail.
In order to keep the secret and prevent the Qing court from discovering the purpose of the Merchant Army's operations, all the warships, soldiers, and sailors of the cross-sea raid fleet had assembled at Dasheng Island at the exit of Hangzhou Bay, completely separated from the land. And until
Now, except for several admirals of the Navy and the commanders of the first and second squadrons who participated in this mission, all other officers and soldiers knew nothing about this plan. They only knew that they had arrived at Da Sheng Island.
I am about to carry out an important task and just leave a letter home.
On August 29, Shang Yi, accompanied by Cheng Gang, took the Yue Fei from Hainingwei to Dasheng Island. This was also Shang Yi's first time on this super ship. After all, it was produced by his own shipyard.
Yes, of course it feels good. However, due to the limitations of his status and responsibilities, Shang Yi could not personally participate in this cross-sea expedition, and he was quite regretful.
It wasn't until the morning of August 30th, when the raiding fleet was preparing to set off, that Shang Yi was ready to announce the real goal of the mission to them. Of course, it was impossible to gather tens of thousands of soldiers and announce them all.
The main commanders of the ship, as well as officers at the company commander level and above, gathered together and announced to them, who then conveyed it to the officers and soldiers at the next level.
Although he was only the main commander, when everyone arrived, there were hundreds of people, and everyone was very curious. They didn't know what the mission was this time. It was made so mysterious and solemn, but from this frame
Judging from the style, it must not be an ordinary task. Therefore, they all whispered to each other.
Shang Yi first raised his hand to signal everyone to quiet down, and then said loudly: "Everyone, you must all want to know what mission Ma is going to perform? Now I can tell you that this time your goal is to travel by sea.
To the north, we bypassed the Shandong Peninsula, entered Bohai Sea, landed in Liaodong, and then went straight to Shengjing, the old capital of the Qing Dynasty."
"boom!"
There was a burst of exclamation in the audience. In fact, some soldiers who followed Shang Yi across the sea to Beijing three years ago had thought about whether Shang Yi would repeat his old plan this time and attack Beijing by sea.
But no one expected that Shang Yi would be bolder and go further this time, aiming at the Qing government's old campaign to suppress Shengjing.
Because the Qing Dynasty had not been in China for a long time, although it had designated Beijing as its capital, most people in the south still believed that Beijing was merely occupied by the Qing Dynasty, and that the real capital of the Qing Dynasty was still
It’s still Shengjing. In addition, Nurhachi Fuling Mausoleum, Huang Taiji Zhaoling Tomb, and the Yongling Tomb and Tokyo Tomb dedicated to the ancestors of the Aisin Gioro family are also in the Shengjing area.
After everyone calmed down a little, Shang Yi said: "The Qing government has occupied our Beijing for three years, and it also captured Nanjing this year. Now our two Han capitals have fallen into the hands of the Qing court, and now the navy
Your mission is to capture Shengjing, the capital of the Qing Dynasty. Let the Qing Dynasty pay for it. What is the feeling of having your capital conquered by others?"
When Shang Yi said this, all the officers immediately became motivated. Being able to attack the Qing Dynasty's hometown directly made them feel bad, so they all geared up and were eager to try.
At this time, Shang Yi said again: "Of course we are not only going to capture the Qing capital, but also recapture our capital. After you set off, I will order the army to attack and regain Nanjing. Then let's compare the navy and the army.
Whoever completes his or her task first? Do you have confidence?"
At this moment of incitement, the officers' blood immediately boiled, and the horses shouted in unison: "Yes."
Shang Yi nodded, showed a satisfied smile, and said: "Okay, you go out and bring this mission to your soldiers. I will wait for your good news in Hangzhou."
With a "hurrah", the officers immediately dispersed. Everyone was in high spirits and high morale. They returned to their ships and conveyed the news to the soldiers. At the same time, the entire fleet began to set sail.
The warships left the port one by one. When each ship left the port, there would be a burst of cheers. There were faint words such as "kill to the home of the Tatars", "raid the old lair of the Tatars" and "plow up the Tatars".