Chapter 23 of Part One

  The city of Nanchang looked unusually quiet in the dark night, with its high and grand city walls and wide moat. In Zeng Qing's eyes, these had all become insurmountable obstacles. He fiercely extinguished the cigarette in his hand, which was a White Sand brand cigarette made by the local tobacco factory for domestic consumption only. Zeng Qing muttered to himself: "Damn, this cigarette is really not bad. Nanchang, I don't believe you are made of copper. As long as you have a loophole, I, Zeng Qing, will definitely find a way in." At this time, the chief of staff, Tong Zhiwei, walked over and said: "Commander, the 4th Division of the 2nd Army has arrived at a place ten kilometers away from us." Zeng Qing exclaimed with joy: "Great! Now it seems that Nanchang will not be taken if we don't break in. I've long heard that Lei Laohu's 4th Division is powerful, and today we'll compare with them. Quickly prepare the horses, I'll go to welcome their troops." As he looked at the neat military formation of the 4th Division, Zeng Qing couldn't help but admire Lei Feng's skills. The division commander had already walked up to shake hands and said: "Commander Zeng, you are our senior, after all. In the past, when you were deputy division commander, we were all soldiers under your command." Zeng Qing listened to this remark, which he didn't know was respectful or sarcastic, and replied with a pretentious tone: "Oh no, oh no, you are the later waves of the Yangtze River pushing forward the earlier waves. The younger generation surpasses the older one. Look at your troops' neat formation - this is not something that can be trained in just one or two days." The division commander, Lu Youde, shook his whiskers and said: "Commander Zeng, come take a look at our latest equipment."

  Zeng Qing stood at the test firing site, looking at the mountain opposite which had already been flattened. His mouth was still agape as he said, "How come our division doesn't have this equipment?" Lu Youde spoke in his characteristic throaty voice, "Comrade Zeng, this is the latest model from the Science and Technology Department, only three were made, and our commander asked for one to be sent over specifically for me to use against Nanchang. Two more were given to the leader, one was sent as a gift, and one was seized by Yi Tianxing." As soon as Zeng Qing heard that the leader had one, his mind started racing, thinking about how he could get his hands on that cannon. He turned to Lu Youde and asked, "Old Lu, what's this cannon called?" Lu Youde straightened his already ramrod-straight body and replied, "This cannon is called the Zhonghua Yidai - 125mm rear-loading artillery. It's even better than before." Zeng Qing nodded vigorously and said, "Alright, Comrade Lu, I think the enemy must have heard that shot too. We'll launch a strong attack on Nanchang tomorrow. The situation in Jiujiang is also nearing its end, and once Nanchang loses its reinforcements, it won't be able to hold out for long. If not, we can just surround them and harass them every day. I guarantee that Nanchang will run out of food within half a month." Lu Youde looked at his beloved cannon and said, "Alright, we'll follow Comrade Zeng's plan. We're just providing supporting fire, the main attacking force is still yours, and we'll provide cover for you with our firepower." Zeng Qing nodded in agreement, also gazing enviously at the shiny black cannon, and said, "Alright, I'll go back and prepare now. You guys hurry up too. I'm going to head back first."

  At dawn, the sunlight reflected off the walls of Nanchang, illuminating the Qing soldiers moving about on the city walls. The weather was unusually good for November, with a thick layer of frost covering the ground outside the city beginning to melt in the sun's rays. A gentle breeze blew occasionally, not strong but enough to be felt by the soldiers. The Qing soldiers' winter uniforms were not very warm, and Zeng Qing gazed at them through his binoculars, thinking that their long braids, some wrapped around their necks, others swinging behind them as they walked, looked rather ridiculous.

  Zeng Qing shook his head, still waiting for Lu Youde's signal. They had agreed that Lu's troops would concentrate their firepower to bombard Nanchang. However, bombarding the city was now a difficult task - if they hit the civilians inside, it would lose them a lot of popular support, which no one wanted to see happen. If they bombed outside the city, it would be seen as a joke, and the thick city walls would only be scratched.

  Zeng Qing couldn't worry about that anymore. At this moment, Lu Youde's artillery position erupted in a loud boom. A plume of black smoke rose from the distant artillery position, and Zeng Qing furrowed his brow, saying, "Where did they get these cannons? They don't even know how to use smokeless gunpowder." He didn't think about it anymore and turned to the artillery camp behind him, saying, "Follow the brother unit's artillery and open fire. When they stop, you start, and when you stop, they'll start again. Don't worry, just follow me and bombard fiercely. If we damage some civilian houses, it doesn't matter - once we occupy Nanchang Prefecture, we can compensate them with money. I think the civilians will understand."

  He then led the charge, shouting, "Comrades, for the stability of our rear and to drive out the Manchu invaders, let's charge forward without fear of death!" The soldiers' morale had reached its peak at this moment, and they completely forgot about sacrifice. All they remembered was how to charge forward.

  The blocking troops on the left bank of the river were also not idle, standing at a good vantage point and picking off Qing soldiers emerging from the city wall embrasures one by one. The propaganda team members, under Zeng Qing's instructions, stood in a safe place and sang in unison "The March of the Volunteers" and "The Liberation Army Song": "Forward! Forward! Forward! Our troops are like the sun, our feet tread on the motherland's soil, our backs bear the nation's hope. We are an invincible force...".

  As the soldiers listened to this familiar song, their blood boiled again. The Qing soldiers on the city wall were already numb with fear, their hands trembling as they loaded their guns after each shot. Our soldiers didn't have such problems. Under the intense bombardment, the stones on the city wall began to fall, and the gaps in the wall grew larger. A burst of machine gun fire kicked up a cloud of dust on the city wall.

  The medical personnel from the field hospital rushed forward, carrying stretchers through the hail of bullets to evacuate the wounded soldiers. Some soldiers lying on the stretchers still said, "Put me down, I can still fight." The soldiers following behind were moved to even greater efforts to fight for their comrades' safety.

  Zeng Qing had already led his soldiers in a charge towards the gap in the city wall, which was now only a few meters away. The thick city gate was pushed open by the soldiers' combined strength. Lu Youde, representing all the participating troops, ordered the bugler to sound the general advance, and more and more soldiers poured into the city.

  Zeng Qing turned to the dozens of soldiers beside him and said, "Follow me to the prefecture yamen, don't let those dog officials escape." More and more soldiers rushed into the city, and the Qing soldiers faced not one-on-one battles but one-against-two or even one-against-three. They retreated faster than anyone else.

  In the face of the demoralized Qing soldiers, our soldiers quickly ended the battle for the entire city. Zeng Qing looked at the "prefectural magistrate" who was trying to escape in the distance and raised his submachine gun, firing a burst of bullets that sent the officials tumbling down from their horses.

  December 2, 1656, outside the city of Nanchang, flags were fluttering in the wind. Zeng Qing was wearing a brand new lieutenant general uniform and standing at the gate. From afar, scouts from the vanguard arrived on horseback. They reported: "Commander, the leader has already arrived and is only 3 kilometers away from Nanchang." Zeng Qing turned to several newly selected local government officials and Lu Youde beside him and said: "What do you say? Shall we go welcome the leader?" I sat on my horse looking at the scenery in front of me. The guard beside me said: "Leader, there are only 2 kilometers left before reaching Nanchang." I nodded and looked ahead at a group of fast horses galloping towards us. Turning to Song Yingxing, I said: "Song Lao, look! I told you Zeng Qing would come. This man is indeed impatient." Song Yingxing habitually stroked his proud whiskers and said: "Leader, you truly see through people!" I smiled evasively and turned my head towards Zeng Qing, who had already stopped his horse and was eagerly approaching: "Zeng Qing, you are indeed impatient!" Zeng Qing hastily rode up to me and asked: "Commander, may I ask you something?" I looked at him and said: "The Chinese cannon has already been given to Li Lei's troops. He needs to guard Jiujiang, so don't waste your energy here." Zeng Qing's face turned red as he said: "Commander, then I'll go guard Jiujiang. Anyway, I must get that cannon. If not, give me Lu Youde's instead." I gave him a cold stare and said: "This is an order! You're becoming more and more insolent. It seems your lieutenant general rank will be revoked again soon!" I continued: "Look at yourself! Lei Tong and you were both promoted to lieutenant generals together, but now he's already a commander while you're still just a division commander. Most division commanders are now your juniors. Do you still have the nerve to behave like this? You'd better do well; otherwise, I'll let your troops become an independent army soon." Zeng Qing smiled and said: "Commander, look at Lei Laohu as a commander – he's always staying at home and can't even go to the battlefield. As for me, I'm still willing to remain in this division commander position." I looked at this stubborn man who didn't fear being scalded by boiling water and said: "Alright, alright! No more nonsense. Let's enter the city!"

  The breach in the city wall of Nanchang has been repaired, and over 13 million taels of silver were found in the yamen of the Nanchang Prefecture. I really don't know how a place ravaged by war could have so much silver. It seems that we still need to study the philosophy of officialdom in this era carefully. The ordinary people inside the city have already settled down, and businessmen have also resumed their normal business activities. Compensation has been made for the civilian houses damaged and residents injured during the attack on Nanchang, according to a certain standard of loss. The ordinary people of Nanchang City still do not have much complaint. However, since Nanchang City was occupied for a long time, the people in the city still maintain a lukewarm attitude towards our army. I looked at it and could only shake my head. This is not something that can be changed overnight; we need to make great efforts to change their perception of us before the ordinary people will support our fight from the heart and support our revolution.

  Inside the largest wine house in the city, I attended a welcoming banquet hosted by the newly established Chamber of Commerce in Nanchang for me and Song Yingxing. I was not very used to this kind of banquet, but Song Yingxing was a famous person in Nanchang before, so when the businessmen saw that Song Yingxing had also come, they became even more enthusiastic. Our policy of equality between workers, peasants, and merchants gave these businessmen a very high status, suddenly raising their status to a new level, and they still supported our regime very much. The big business names in Nanchang city also frequently toasted me and Song Yingxing. Song Yingxing took over the wine cup and raised it, saying: "I, Song Yingxing, have been appointed by the King of Yan as the Premier of the State Council, and this time I have returned to Nanchang to preside over the daily work here. I hope you will all support me more in the future." However, Song Yingxing's tone changed, saying: "If any of you do anything out of line in Nanchang without telling me in the future, please don't blame me for not being grateful for your kindness." The faces of those people who were present turned pale and sweaty, saying: "Mr. Changgeng, what are you talking about? We support you because you can bring benefits to our hometown, how could we do anything wrong?" They all hastily said: "Nothing, nothing." Song Yingxing looked at me and asked: "Does the Premier have anything to say?" I also stood up and said: "You are all wealthy and rich businessmen, I won't say anything more. Just now, Mr. Song's meaning is also my intention, I hope you will all cooperate with Mr. Song and work together to bring benefits to our hometown." Those people all nodded in agreement, at this time, the guard next to me walked over and said: "Premier, the Mingfeng troops have arrived in Nanchang."