Chapter 27 of Part One

  Descendants of the Yellow Emperor.

  The battle at dawn unfolded swiftly under the bombardment of artillery fire. Lu Youde mobilized a regiment to harass, and in his view, the Qing army's Eagle Pool Patrol Officer was a timid person who would not dare to come out of the city to fight. The other two regiments, under Lu Youde's instructions, slept soundly, while the Qing soldiers put up a full defense at each gate, with soldiers lined up everywhere. After attacking for two hours, some of the soldiers from the other gates went down. The attacked gate was already filled with arrows flying towards our warriors. The torches and lanterns on the city wall illuminated the entire gate, allowing us to clearly see the Qing soldiers on the wall in the dark. I don't know how to evaluate this foolish patrol officer. The battle continued. The patrol officer seemed to have felt something and extinguished all the lanterns. In this way, our warriors and they shot at each other in the darkness under the moonlight. The regiment commander of the 1st Regiment looked at the situation and stopped attacking. Don't waste bullets. It seems that this regiment commander is still very frugal with bullets. After our warriors stopped attacking, the Qing soldiers fired another round of shots. When they also stopped, the regiment commander ordered the warriors and artillery company to "give me a big one." Another burst of gunfire erupted. The Qing soldiers who had just recovered could not help but fight back. The range of their firelocks was far inferior to our rifles and machine guns, and they could only gaze at the warriors' bodies in dismay. This harassment continued until dawn. Lu Youde gave an order, and all the warriors of the 1st Regiment retreated to rest. The 2nd and 3rd Regiments went up, making a show during the day, and the 3rd Regiment fought for two hours before retreating to rest. This harassment continued unabated for two days and three nights, until finally, even when we fired under their noses, all the Qing soldiers were too lazy to get up and fight back. Lu Youde looked at the effect with satisfaction and said, "Good, now let's launch a real attack. Prepare the wooden materials to set up the bridge."

  The real battle had already begun when the enemy was off guard and thought it was just a sneak attack. Before, Lu Youde had also tried half-true and half-false tactics, but the enemy didn't react at first. When our soldiers started ramming the city gate, the Qing army finally realized they had been deceived. The patrol officer shouted loudly, kicking the exhausted Qing soldiers with his feet. The enemy was already out of energy. Think about it, after such a long time of feigned attack, how many people could still have the strength to fight back, unless they were made of iron? All four artillery units opened fire simultaneously at this moment. The intense firepower covered and bombarded the Qing soldiers inside the city wall, who stood up numbly to counterattack our assault. In broad daylight, their silhouettes were clearly visible to our soldiers. From time to time, Qing soldiers were shot down by our soldiers. This was a vivid demonstration of the phrase "one drumbeat, two declines, three exhaustions." The morale of the Qing army had already plummeted at this point. Adding to the impact of the retreating Qing soldiers from Shangrao, the war situation quickly turned in one direction. The city gate became insignificant in front of our high-spirited soldiers.

  The street fighting did not last long. Soon, under the efforts of the soldiers, those drowsy Qing soldiers were captured, and that patrol officer was very loyal to the Qing dynasty and killed himself at the moment we broke into the city. Lu Youde looked at the starving civilians inside the city and said to several regimental commanders: "Put all these Qing soldiers in custody. Take a large part of our food to relieve these starving people, and be careful not to let them receive it repeatedly. Call the wealthy landlords inside the city and outside the city to provide some relief with grain. Use the silver from the city's treasury to buy it. Open the granary in Yingtan and distribute grain to these civilians."

  After finishing speaking, Lu Youde's eyes were already moist. As a refugee himself, seeing the hungry look of the common people made him recall his past days. The propaganda team also began their activities in various villages and towns in Yingtan, taking advantage of every opportunity. The soldiers went around to investigate the people's feelings and grievances, arresting those big landlords and capitalists who were most hated by the people, and launching a struggle that was all too familiar. Local government agencies quickly formed and started operating. Jiangxi's last stronghold finally took the right path. Lu Youde looked at the city's appearance and said to the guard, "Send a telegram over. The 4th Division has captured Yingtan and is defending Fujian according to the designated area. Please instruct."

  The death of Hong Chengchou was a significant blow to the Qing dynasty. The previous deaths of Wu Sangui, Ao Bai, and other generals under Wu Sangui had already dealt a heavy blow to the Qing. Now, with the loss of another important figure, the Minister of War, the Qing's rule was in jeopardy. Emperor Shunzhi sat in the Cining Palace, listening to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's advice. She said, "It seems that the Han people's world is not ours for the taking. Alas." Shunzhi, no longer with his usual arrogant and violent demeanor, replied, "Empress Dowager, do not worry, we Manchu people can always retreat back to the White Mountains and Black Waters if necessary. I believe our Manchu warriors are still capable of conquering and fighting well. These Han people are absolutely no match for us. Besides, it's not yet time to resort to desperate measures, so I think it's unnecessary to carry out our ancestors' last wishes." Xiaozhuang nodded in agreement, saying, "Your Majesty, who do you think we should send to fight this battle?"

  Shunzhi thought for a moment and said, "Now the Han people's counterattack is so fierce. I think those Han people who surrendered to our Qing dynasty are unreliable. We should rely on ourselves, the Manchu people, to fight for the throne. Zheng Prince Jiye is more suitable." Xiaozhuang nodded and said, "Yes, although Jiye is already over 60 years old, he remains calm and composed. I think it's okay."

  Shunzhi nodded and said, "The Empress Dowager should rest well, I will withdraw."

  On the second day, Shunzhi issued a sacred decree ordering Prince Zheng to lead the Bordered Red Banner to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to take over Hong Chengchou's position and continue attacking the remaining rebels of the Yan Wang.

  In Jiujang city, Zeng Qingzheng looked at the message sent from Beijing by carrier pigeon and said "It seems that the Qing government has no one to use, sending a sixty-year-old old man to come and make demands. I think we can quickly capture a base in Jiangbei and liberate Anhui province as soon as possible. We will meet with the Eighth Army.

  I looked at the two telegrams from Lu Youde and Zeng Qinglai. Smiling at Zhou Lun, I said: "Ah Lun, it seems that Zeng Qing is getting restless. His suggestion can be implemented, we can't just stay in the south of the Yangtze River, sooner or later we have to go north. Now that Lu's 8th Army has been replenished, I think we can soon merge with the 1st Division and launch a pincer attack. This will be very helpful for our expansion. Let's leave Jiayu to Ding Desheng of the 2nd Division to defend."

  "Alright, I think this is how we should do it. The First Division will continue to defend, after all they have more experience defending Jiāngjiāng. Meanwhile, the Second Division will head north into ānhuī Province. At the same time, the First Division will prepare to enter Jiāngnán and Zhèjiāng at any moment. Zheng Chenggong is in a difficult position with attacks from both sides, it seems they will have to withdraw from Fújiàn soon. When that happens, we can let Li Dingguo's troops take over Fújiàn and face Zheng Chenggong's harassment, while we attack Jiāngnán and Zhèjiāng. We'll surround Li Dingguo's troops and as long as he takes over Fújiàn, we'll have Yì Tiān Xíng take down Guìzhōu. What do you think?"

  I thought for a moment and said, "I think it's okay, we need to have two plans ready for Li Dingguo. This Southern Ming dynasty's Jin Wang is very loyal to Yongli." I paused for a moment and continued, "Alright, let's send a telegram to Jiujiang to inform them of our plan and ask them to act accordingly. If the situation permits, we should quickly take control of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The people there are very dissatisfied with the Qing dynasty, which is also one of the reasons why Shang Kexi has been unable to conquer Fujian for so long."

  Zeng Qing discussed the attack with the 1st and 2nd brigades after receiving the telegram. Li Lei still had no opinion on Chang's decision, as he was a follower of Chang. Having seen Chang's style firsthand, he knew that Chang's arrangements also made sense. Therefore, there were no complaints. Li Lei said, "Last time their cavalry caused us a lot of trouble. Since we had just landed, we didn't have anything to block the impact of their cavalry, resulting in significant casualties among our soldiers. This time, I think we need to find a good way to solve this problem."

  Ding Desheng also nodded and said, "Coach Li's words are very reasonable. I think our soldiers should take slow actions after landing, don't rush to capture their troops all at once. After all, they have an advantage in numbers over us. Although tens of thousands of people died, there are still 40,000 people there. In my opinion, we should advance step by step, prepare well, and lay out caltrops and iron thistles, as well as set up ambushes outside."

  Zeng Qing thought for a moment and said, "Well, we should add more wooden stakes, as dense as possible. This way, even if their cavalry charges, they won't be able to get through. We don't need to send our own cavalry out. This way, our mobility will actually be greater. What do you think?"

  Shi Lang also said, "I think the Navy can consider giving them a precise strike. Now the Qing army's troops are in dense formation. In this way, we can use high-explosive shells to cause significant casualties to their cavalry or infantry, striking their morale and confidence."

  The counterattack of Jiujiang is unfolding step by step. Under the cover of artillery and machine gun troops, our engineering soldiers quickly deployed to defend against the terrain, following the previously set defensive fortifications. Our main force also launched a fierce attack afterwards. The Qing army, having lost its commander, began to harass and obstruct us. However, under the strong firepower cover, they were repeatedly repelled. The engineering soldiers accelerated the construction of defensive fortifications, braving the enemy's artillery attacks and arrow strikes. Ding Desheng shouted at his soldiers, "Comrades, for the sake of our comrades' lives, let's fight fiercely! We must knock down these Qing running dogs!"

  The warriors became even more frenzied under Ding Dasheng's personal leadership. The Qing army's cavalry, after being beaten back several times, also began to learn from their mistakes. Each time, they launched a probing attack. The cannons in the Qing army camp also started firing, and Ding Dasheng looked back and said, "Why didn't the naval gunfire suppress their artillery?" The Qing soldiers charged out with long guns, still using the dense impact formation, and the Qing army's firearms battalion began to fire in rows. Some warriors were injured by their stray bullets and were carried away by our medical personnel. Li Lei looked at the battlefield and frowned, saying, "Order the artillery to aim at their artillery positions and blast them. We must destroy their artillery positions. The machine gun battalion should target the Qing army's firearms battalion. If we keep fighting like this, I'll really get angry." The enemy's firepower was quickly controlled under our suppression, and the Qing soldiers retreated as they saw more and more people fall down in front of them. These Ming dynasty surrendered troops had no qualms about surrendering to us now that they had previously surrendered to the Qing. They all threw down their weapons and squatted on the ground with their hands on their heads amidst our warriors' shouts of "Surrender and we won't kill you!" The battlefield quickly calmed down, and in the end, we eliminated over 8,000 Qing soldiers, captured over 30,000, and had over 2,000 escape. We lost one regiment-level officer, three battalion-level officers, and several dozen other warriors, with over 200 seriously injured and over 700 lightly injured who could still fight after treatment. Looking at the corpses on the ground, Ding Dasheng said to the Second Division, which had been replenished from the Jiangxi local troops, "Leave one division here to clean up the battlefield and hand over the prisoners to them. Our troops will advance into Anhui. We'll set out in two hours."