Dominate the Country

Gutang is only thirty miles away from Jiujiang Fucheng, but the guards in Gutang are too tight. The Fuhan army's fleet arrived at Gutang early in the afternoon, but they had no chance to take advantage of the Qing army's meticulous defense. The news finally reached Chen Ming that the fleet had truly settled in Dujiazui, a small town twenty miles south of Gutang.

This suddenly expanded the distance to fifty miles.

"Master, Yang Shijin said that Dujiazui is a temporary resting place. He is planning to attack Guanshan at night." As dusk approached, Liu Wu reported Chen Ming with the latest reply.

"Guanshan..."

Chen Ming, who was familiar with the map of Jiujiang, certainly knew where Guanshan was. Guanshan was located in the southeast of Gutang Town, and the southeast was the direction closest to the water surface in Gutang Town, with a straight-line distance of only two or three miles. Guanshan is the gateway to the southeast of Gutang Town. It is less than a mile away from the water of Poyang Lake. Although it is only a hundred meters high, it is the focus of Gutang Town's defense circle.

…

At three o'clock that night, Cao Chuande, the supervisor of Jiujiang Chaoguan Gutang branch, was about to take a rest when suddenly there was a sudden sound of killing outside. He hurriedly put on his clothes and ran out, and saw thunderous guns and guns on Gutang Pier. Fuhan Army soldiers in small boats were shuttled back and forth in the firelight, flexibly throwing fireballs at hundreds of large and small ships docked in the pier. The bullets illuminated the pier as brightly as daylight.

For more than ten miles along the river, starting from Shangqingshan and Xiaqingshan on the edge of Qingshan Lake, all the way to Qingshanzui in Dalaobei, Gutang Town, Qing army positions within a range of more than ten or twenty miles were attacked by the Fuhan army in a harassing manner. . The sound of the grenade explosion was like that of thousands of troops, but in fact it was thunder but no rain. Yang Shijin was bluffing.

Qing army positions everywhere were fighting back with all their strength, but it was obvious that the accuracy of the Qing army's artillery fire was so bad in the dark that it was of no use at all. The Fuhan army ships plying the water were still very active.

The fire attack continued intermittently, stopped and started, and lasted all night. The Qing army's coastal garrison general Bian did not even take a nap. By daybreak the attacks ceased. Cao Chuande, who had been fearful and fearful all night, looked at the lake with a monocular, but there was no trace. The sound of fighting last night was like a nightmare.

Cao Chuande had no idea that the Qing army's indiscriminate cannons had inadvertently dealt a heavy blow to the Fuhan army's surface fleet.

After Yang Shijin harassed him along the way for most of the night, he began to attack the Qing army's position in Guanshan at dawn. As a result, the Qing army accidentally hit Yang Shijin's boat with a shell, and the flying wood thorns pricked Yang Shijin like a hedgehog. At the same time, the commando officer standing next to Yang Shijin also died. He was even more unlucky than Yang Shijin. Although the latter was stabbed like a hedgehog, the most serious injury was only the piece of wood on his back that was as big as a child's hand. An inch and a half deep. But the unlucky commando officer was stabbed through the neck by a wooden thorn.

The Guanshan assault planned by Yang Shijin came to an abrupt end and ended in nothing. The news reached Chen Ming after dawn, and Chen Ming could only lament Yang Shijin's bad luck. Since he started the army, his upper-level officers have been protected by gods. No matter how difficult the battle, no officer above the battalion level has died in battle, and few have even been injured. This is the absolute first time that Yang Shijin was injured by a senseless shot in the middle of the night.

On this day, Huang Jie led the team and marched from Dujiazui to Qingshan Mountain. To the west of Dujiazui is Lushan Mountain. If the Fuhan Army wants to reach Jiujiang City as quickly as possible, the only way is to rely on the Poyang Lake. Climb down the green hills and go north, gnawing down one hilltop after another.

It’s troublesome, isn’t it? But who made Chen Ming's ships weak? Otherwise, if the ships carried cannons and aimed at the Qing army's position on the hilltop by the lake, they would blast the position easily, and it would never be as difficult as it is now.

On the first day, the Fuhan army captured Xia Qingshan and Shang Qingshan, and charged and killed many times with the Qing army.

The two armies fought with real swords and guns. The Jiujiang defenders were obviously no match for the Fuhan Army. But when the news reached Kueyi, the chief envoy of Jiangxi was not worried at all about the loss of the two fortresses, just like his reaction when he heard about the defeat of Hukou Ka.

But Chen Ming was really dissatisfied with the progress of the army. In two days, the army had spent two days in Jiujiang, but it was far from seeing the city wall of Jiujiang. Chen Ming only had five days in total.

This result almost declared the bankruptcy of Chen Ming Jiujiang's original plan. If the team wants to capture Jiujiang in the next few days, they can no longer leave as planned. The Fuhan Army can only land directly from Meijiazhou, no, from the south bank of the Yangtze River closest to Jiujiang Fucheng. Take Jiujiang City.

"If the young master wants to attack Jiujiang Fucheng directly, he should let Huang Jie attack harder in the south." Liu Wu was the only person beside Chen Ming in the cabin. Seeing that Chen Ming had made up his mind and pointed the finger directly at Jiujiang Fucheng, he lost no time in speaking.

"Go tell Huang Jie, don't be afraid of casualties, don't worry about ammunition supplies. We must fight the Qing army and ask for help, and keep asking for help." Chen Ming tapped Jiujiang Fucheng on the map in his hand. This place is very crucial. As long as there is a slight chance, he does not want to give up.

How many people are there in the entire Jiujiang Prefecture’s garrison?

A Jiujiang town, plus some troops from Nanchang, and Ding Yong, a militia recruited by the Jiangxi government, has 10,000 people. Most of them are locals, and they are quite enthusiastic in fighting. Yesterday, the secret camp in Jiujiang City reported that with the loss of Xiaqingshan and Shangqingshan, the defenders in Jiujiang City sent a group of soldiers to the south to reinforce the troops in the camps and positions along the lake. According to the spy's estimate, there are only about 4,000 defenders left in the city.

"Tell the logistics department to include Meijiazhou and Jiujiang Prefecture City in the harassment tonight."

...

"Why is the Grand Commander doing this? We are already short of manpower, and if Meijiazhou and Jiujiang Prefecture City are included, it will really be just harassment without any threat."

The news reached the logistics department, and Zheng Hongyu and Wei Xiuzhi notified the surface combat troops without thinking. After Yang Shijin lay down, the number of people leading this surface fleet increased from one to three, namely Xu Youruo, Chen Dai and Luo Daliang. The title of these three people is the deputy general manager of the waterway of the logistics battalion. After Yang Shijin was injured, Chen Ming officially appointed him as the general manager of the waterway, a battalion officer.

Now Xu Youruo and the other two gathered on the big ship where Yang Shijin was recuperating. The three people were very puzzled by Chen Ming's order. Chen Ming's order doubled their range of activities. With the combat power of the Fu Han Army's surface fleet, there is really no threat, only noise-like harassment.

The person who spoke was Chen Dai. From his surname, it can be seen that he is a member of the Chen family. He is also the No. 1 among the three deputy general managers.

"Does the Grand Commander need to explain to you what he does? Just listen to orders honestly." Yang Shijin rolled his eyes and looked at Chen Dai and the other two who looked depressed. These three brain-dead guys really took themselves seriously. What is the purpose of the fleet harassing along the way? It is to disrupt the rest of the Qing soldiers and reduce their spirit and energy.

If the Fu Han Army wants to take Jiujiang, the main force still depends on the army. It would take forever to take Jiujiang Prefecture by relying on the harassment of the navy alone.

The battle deployment made by the Grand Admiral before was all for the purpose of taking Jiujiang Prefecture. Although Yang Shijin was injured, he was not deaf and did not hear the news that the Grand Admiral had adjusted the deployment in the past two days. In other words, the Grand Admiral still wanted to take Jiujiang Prefecture. Now he asked the navy to expand the scope of harassment, which must be the intention of the Grand Admiral.

The Grand Admiral was happy to tell the people below about this kind of military strategy, which was because the Grand Admiral was in a good mood. If he didn't reveal a word, there would be nothing to say.

Yang Shijin's injury would not heal without a month or two of rest. The blow on his back was very serious, and now he is lying on the bed.

Compared with the lively Chen Dai, Xu Youruo, and Luo Daliang, Yang Shijin was actually the one who hoped that the Fu Han Army could occupy Jiujiang Prefecture immediately. Because he was injured, if the Fu Han Army was finished, Yang Shijin would have a hard time escaping.

That night, the Fu Han army launched harassment on the entire line of the Jiujiang Qing army. The Xunyang Tower on the bank of the Yangtze River was almost burned down by the Fu Han army's sneak attack. At dawn, the monotonous and sad sound of the fighting could not wake up the extremely sleepy soldiers, and they were all dying. The strong sleepiness made many people completely ignore the officers' scolding, and they lay all over the ground.

Even the officers themselves had heavy eyelids and kept yawning.

Huang Zhaolong, the prefect of Jiujiang Prefecture, drank cup after cup of strong tea, but still could not get rid of his fatigue. His two masters forced themselves to play chess with him, but they were often confused, their heads would hang down to their chests, and they would shudder violently.

This state was definitely not due to the harassment last night, because this harassment had existed for many days. Before Chen Ming officially attacked Jiujiang, before Chen Ming completely took over Hukou, his surface fleet began to harass Jiujiang along the Yangtze River. After that, their fleet stopped harassing the Yangtze River and started harassing the Poyang Lake.

No matter who the Fu Han Army harassed, Huang Zhaolong, as the prefect of Jiujiang, was under great pressure. He was different from Kuiyi and Shushan. If Jiujiang Prefecture was broken, Kuiyi and Shushan could run away, but Huang Zhaolong would die if he ran away. Who made him responsible for defending the land?

In the early spring morning, the river breeze was clear. The war made the two sides of the river seem particularly lonely.

A day passed peacefully. Although the Fu Han Army in the south had captured Gutang, it was only 20 to 30 miles away from the prefectural city. A large number of Qing soldiers and militiamen were transferred to the south to reinforce the camps along the line, but the war still seemed far away from the Yangtze River.

At night, Huang Zhaolong stayed up late as usual. Soon he received news that the Fu Han Army was harassing the positions on the riverside, and Xunyang Tower was set on fire by rockets fired by the Fu Han Army. Fortunately, the Qing soldiers reacted in time, otherwise this famous tower in Jiujiang would have been burned down.

Huang Zhaolong despised the "rudeness" of the Fu Han Army. They actually set their sights on Xunyang Tower, which was a waste of natural resources.

Then Huang Zhaolong waited and waited, waiting for the Fu Han Army to come again. You know, in the past two nights, the Fu Han Army had frequently harassed at least twice and as many as three or five times every night.

Until the fifth watch, the Fu Han Army's harassing fleet came twice again. It was about to dawn, and today's alarm was lifted. Huang Zhaolong went back to his room and slept with peace of mind.

People are like this, the power of habit is very huge. If the Fu Han Army's harassing fleet only came once this night, Huang Zhaolong would be restless, just like waiting for the "second boot to fall from the upstairs".

Now he slept peacefully and boldly, just like the Qing soldiers along the Yangtze River. He felt that the danger was gone, just like the Green Camp militiamen who guarded the Yangtze River at night, and his mind was relaxed to the maximum at this moment.

In fact, they didn't know that just before dawn and in the dark, more than 200 ships had quietly set sail on the surface of the river at Hukou on the other side of the Yangtze River. They carefully groped forward in the dark night, and the fleet bypassed the island in the middle of the river and appeared directly on the surface of the Yangtze River ten miles east of Jiujiang Prefecture.

The three naval camps of the Qing army lost the island in the middle of the river without a fight, and now they have received the most fatal punishment.

More than 20 pointed sampans in the Fu Han army fleet rushed to the south bank of the Yangtze River like sharp arrows.

The wooden stakes buried by the Qing army under the water on the shore did not work at all, because these pointed sampans only had four or five people on each boat, and like small fishing boats, the draft was less than one foot deep. The hidden stakes buried by the Qing army in the water did not work at all.

The Qing army at Jinjipo was caught off guard. When the Qing soldiers who discovered the fleet of the Fu Han army sounded the alarm, and when the panicked Green Camp officers and militia leaders shouted at their soldiers to rise up, the goddess of victory had already thrown herself into the arms of the Fu Han army.

More than 20 small boats and a team of assault troops reached the shore very smoothly. Then, there was nothing else.

The panicked Green Camp and the militia were directly dispersed by the assault troops, and their camps could not withstand the explosion of the explosive packs. Although the Qing army militia guarding Jinjipo had a total of 300 to 400 people, and although they had four cannons, the assault troops had only 100 people.

…

On the island in the middle of the river, Chen Ming sighed as he watched the battle on the shore that was about to end. It's ok, it's really ok.

The Fu Han army took a defensive position on the bank of the Yangtze River. With a foothold, there was a guarantee that large troops could be sent ashore continuously. When the Fu Han Army landed on the river bank in an organized manner, when the Fu Han Army at Jinjipo had two battalions, three battalions, four battalions..., and more battalions, it was not the Qing Army that attacked the Fu Han Army; it was the Fu Han Army that went to sweep the Qing Army.

There was only one day left in the five days, but Chen Ming seized the chance of victory. One day is very short, but he might not be able to capture Jiujiang Prefecture in this day.

"Go and find out where Huang Jie's group is? Order them to rush to the island in the middle of the river before noon."

The team on the southern line was withdrawn by Chen Ming and returned by boat. If the attack at dawn today is not successful, no matter how hard the southern route fights, it will not be able to touch the wall of Jiujiang Prefecture in three to five days. There are too many mountains here.

Chen Ming will not invest any more forces in Jiujiang Prefecture. The Green Camp led by Huang Zhenggang is about to enter Anqing, and Chen Ming must deal with the pressure from downstream, which means the failure of his Jiujiang strategy.

If the attack at dawn succeeds, Huang Jie and his men will not have to waste their efforts on the southern route. They can just move the team to the Yangtze River, where they can be of great use.

…

"Coo, coo..."

In Hukou County Government Office, a pigeon fluttered its wings and landed on a large wooden board. There was rice scattered on it, and a basin of water beside it.