Dominate the Country

Late at night, Huguang Governor's Office. The western clock in the study was past 11 o'clock, but Aligun could not fall asleep even though he was wrapped in a quilt. The blazing brazier beside the bed made his face glow red, and his eyes, which had no trace of sleep, blinked and blinked.

Can Ma Mingxun [Sichuan Admiral] lead the Sichuan Army to complete the task he assigned? Can Detai [Huguang Admiral] withdraw troops from Xiangyang to the south? Can he get to Hanyang in time? The Fu Han Army attacked by land and sea, and it took only three days to capture the city of Huangzhou Prefecture. When the city was broken, Wang Wenxi, the prefect of Huangzhou, fled to Luotian in the mountainous area in the north of Huangzhou Prefecture with his remaining soldiers.

Sure enough, Luotian County in the mountain valley was not the target of the Fu Han Army. Now the vanguard of the Fu Han Army has entered Hanyang Prefecture, and Ma Mingxun is leading his troops to Huangpi, asking him for reinforcements every day. But part of Hubei's Green Camp troops were in Xiangyang, and the other part was stationed in the provincial capital, and they could not move easily. Besides, Aligun also knew the situation in Huangpi, and the situation of the Sichuan Army was not as tense as Ma Mingxun said.

Ma Mingxun's deployment in Huangpi was learned from the Fu Han Army in Henan. There were cannons in the city, but the Fu Han Army attacking Huangpi did not have enough cannons. The Fu Han Army came quickly, with light soldiers and rapid advances. There were a large number of musketeers and a certain number of small cannons, but there were not enough cannons to accompany the army. They could not suppress the Qing army's artillery in Huangpi City, nor could they form a severe blow to the Sichuan soldiers shrinking in the tunnel trenches.

The progress of pushing the shield cart was too slow. In the fields outside Huangpi County, the Qing soldiers dug large and small earth pits and trenches. If you want to push the shield cart to the front of the Qing army, you should at least fill the road, right? The artillery of the Qing army in the city kept bombarding, and most of the troops failed to attack in formation or to set up shield car formation. The situation in Huangpi was not very critical for the Sichuan soldiers. At least it was like that now.

Since the rise of the Fu Han Army, the Hubei Green Camp has fought against it repeatedly, and the soldiers and braves of the towns in Huguang have suffered heavy casualties. It was the previous year that gave the soldiers and horses of the towns in Huguang a chance to breathe, reorganize the young and strong, and expand their military strength. However, during Alyajiang's tenure, the Hubei troops and the Jiujiang Fu Han Army attacked and killed many times, especially the last battle - Alyajiang died in Chengzi Town, and the Hubei Green Camp also suffered a heavy blow with him, and it has not recovered yet. Aligun could only send Zhu Gui to lead a part of the militia to Huangpi, but it has been three days, and Zhu Gui is still in Hanyang on the other side of the river.

Hunan Governor Fang Shijun was a life-saving rain. Hearing that Hubei was in urgent need, he had already ordered Hunan Tuanlian Minister Gong Zhaolin [Anchashi] to lead 10,000 civilians to Hubei in advance. Fang Shijun himself also had the power to raise funds for the Green Camps in various towns. When the troops were assembled, he personally led the troops to the north. In the Hubei battle, Zhengan Town and other Hunan Green Camps were successively defeated by the Fu Han Army. The casualties of the Hunan Green Camp soldiers were also heavy, and they even took on blood feuds with the Fu Han Army. It is said that many of the 10,000 civilians led by Gong Zhaolin were recruited from the fierce Xiangxi area. Before the Hunan Miao people revolted, this civilian brave repeatedly made military exploits in the process of suppressing and suppressing, and their combat effectiveness was not weaker than that of the regular soldiers.

Aligun had also requested reinforcements from Beijing. He knew that the Green Camp in Sichuan had gathered in Kuizhou Prefecture, and that Henan's troops could also send a part of their troops to De'an, and cooperate with the troops in Xiangyang to force the Fu Han Army in Henan back to Nanyang, which at least solved his crisis along the way. However, the Fu Han Army's fleet continued to flow into Huangzhou, which was both good and bad news, and made Aligun suffer.

Although he was the governor of Huguang, Aligun had planned his ambitions before and paid close attention to the Fu Han Army in Jiangnan. In particular, the activities of the Qing Dynasty's Sticking Rod Office provided the Qing Dynasty with many more sources of information. Of course, Aligun attached the most importance to the military intelligence of the Fu Han Army. At least he had figured out the advantages and disadvantages of the Jiangnan Fu Han Army, and knew what they had more and what they had less. He knew that some teams in the Jiangnan Fu Han Army were very good at fighting, while some teams might not even be able to win against the local militia.

Many of the first batch of teams that entered Huangzhou were the main forces of the Fu Han Army. Chen Ming previously dispatched troops to reinforce Anqing and Jiujiang. Under the general environment of the "Northern Expedition", it was of course a means to consolidate the rear; in the face of the cruel reality of the "Western Expedition", it was a fake and a real thing, and he also used an absolutely elite force to disguise himself as a non-main force to land in Jiujiang.

At that time, everyone was fascinated by the word "Northern Expedition" and watched Chen Ming complete all his arrangements in a daze.

When all the truth came out, it was too late to regret, and Aligun was also very hateful.

There were 20,000 Sichuan troops in Hubei, but some of them stayed in Jingmen, and Ma Mingxun led only 13,000 to 14,000 people in Huangpi. If the cannons of the Fu Han Army did not participate in the battle, Aligun felt that Ma Mingxun's troops could hold out in Huangpi for a month, but if the hundreds of cannons of the Fu Han Army were pulled up, who could still withstand it?

This is a gap in strength, and no amount of talk can make up for it. As the governor of Huguang, Aligun was not only worried about Huangpi, but also the provincial capital. If hundreds of cannons were piled outside the provincial capital, Wuchang would be doomed.

Aligun didn't know that Emperor Qianlong had ordered him to defend the capital of Hubei, otherwise he would be even more miserable.

…

The morning light shines on the earth, covering the Yangtze River with a golden glow in the sun. At the Tanhe Wharf in Lijiaji, which is only thirty or forty miles away from Huangpi, teams of Fu Han soldiers have wrapped the entire wharf tightly. A large cannon barrel with a cold metallic glow is slowly transferred from the deck of the ship to the ground of the wharf by a jib crane driven by animal power. When the cannon barrel weighing more than a thousand pounds falls on the ground of the wharf, it seems that the bluestone slabs on the surface groan under the heavy load.

Then there are gun carriages, ammunition carts, boxes of cannon shells, and barrels of gunpowder...

"The first team of the fifth battalion of artillery, six five-jin cannons, in place..."

When the last barrel of gunpowder rolled down the wooden ladder from the deck of the ship to the wharf, the cannon barrels, gun carriages and ammunition carts had been reassembled into six majestic five-jin cannons by the gunners. Teams of artillerymen lined up on the left and right of the artillery carts. After the bullocks driven down from the dock were harnessed to the heavy artillery carts, they took heavy steps and dragged the artillery carts towards the road connecting to the Lijiaji dock.

Aligun's worry was not his own hysterical delusion, but the real reality. When Chen Ming knew that the front army's steps to attack Hanyang Prefecture were blocked in Huangpi, the musketeers of the Fu Han Army were indeed sharp, but Ma Mingxun led the Sichuan Army to hide in the tunnel trenches and city barriers. Without enough cannons, it would be difficult for the front-line troops to capture Huangpi County. The fifth battalion of artillery and the corresponding ammunition were immediately allocated, and a fleet was specially sent to Huangzhou. The fleet was directly escorted by the warships of the Navy Camp, crossed the Huangzhou Prefecture City to the Duantian River to the west of the city, entered the Zhangdu Lake through the river, and then followed the Tan River that flowed into the Zhangdu Lake all the way to Lijiaji.

During this period, the transport ship was replaced once, at the mouth of Zhangdu Lake. Because the canal boats and sand boats that can sail freely in the Yangtze River cannot travel freely in the small Tanhe River, in order to prevent stranding, the logistics troops specially replaced the boats at the mouth of Zhangdu Lake.

As a result, a fleet of more than 50 ships suddenly expanded to less than 200 ships, because the ships were smaller and the load was much smaller.

At the dock of Lijiaji, all the ammunition carried was completely handed over to the chief of the transport team of the logistics department of the vanguard troops. After the latter verified the number of gunpowder and artillery shells one by one, he took out the documents, in duplicate, and both parties signed their names, and then stamped the official seal, and each of them had a copy.

"Brother, the town has prepared accommodation. Take a good rest today."

The serious expression disappeared completely after the document was signed, and the faces of the two chiefs of the logistics team were filled with close friendship like brothers. "Then we won't be polite. We've been really exhausted these past few days..." When changing boats at the mouth of Zhangdu Lake, which member of the transport fleet didn't do it himself? After completing the mission, we must take a break.

The news of the vanguard troops was passed to Chen Ming, and Chen Ming sent the fleet to set sail. After a lot of twists and turns, they arrived at Lijiaji. It was already the end of February. The large force of the Fu Han Army assembled 30,000 to 40,000 people in Huangzhou, but a large number of baggage and artillery were still left in Anqing. During this period of time, the Qing army in northern Anhui was like a turtle, staying in Luzhou honestly, not daring to look south. They were afraid that the Fu Han Army would raise a large army to attack northern Anhui. The Qing army in Jiangxi was relatively tough, and they attacked Jiujiang and Hukou fiercely. The first batch of the Fu Han Army that arrived in Anqing had not even warmed up their buttocks, and they hurried to reinforce Jiujiang.

Up to now, the Qing army in Jiangxi has also tied down the Fu Han Army's small 10,000 troops. The Qing soldiers Lian Yong kept attacking the Jiujiang Hukou, which made Chen Ming furious. He really wanted to lead the army south and hit the Jiangxi Qing army hard.

At the Tongcheng front in Anqing, Tang Wencan looked at the Qing army position opposite from afar. After a long time, he put down the telescope in his hand and cursed: "This dog Tartar is really cowardly. There is not even a cannon..." This is really thorough. It is estimated that if the Fu Han Army in Tongcheng launches an offensive now, the Qing soldiers on the opposite position will run north.

After Tang Wencan's troops arrived in Anqing, they were divided into two halves by Gaoping Mountain. Most of them stayed in Anqing, and a small half were sent to Tongcheng to replace the original troops. Tang Wencan took the initiative to volunteer and became the current supreme commander of the Tongcheng Fu Han Army.

Coming down from the front line unhappily, Tang Wencan went to the wounded camp. The Fu Han Army that had previously guarded Tongcheng had withdrawn, but the wounded could not leave at will. Tang Wencan asked Gao Pingshan in Anqing for instructions. After these wounded soldiers recovered, they were transferred to the current Tongcheng garrison troops. In other words, these wounded soldiers will still be his soldiers in the future.

The troops that Tang Wencan brought to Tongcheng this time have three battalions, one more battalion than the previous Tongcheng garrison, but Tang Wencan still felt that there were not enough people, because in addition to defending the Tongcheng county, he also asked his soldiers to explore and infiltrate the western mountainous areas that the original garrison could not control. Tang Wencan would not complain about too many soldiers, and these people are veterans who have been on the battlefield, and are more trustworthy than the soldiers of the three battalions under Tang Wencan.

As soon as you enter the barracks, you should see people dressed as civilians. These people are indeed ordinary people, local people in Tongcheng. Every citizen who can enter the wounded camp to work must have a family and a household, and someone to guarantee it. Each person gets one silver dollar per month, and there are rewards during festivals. This is a rare high-tech in Tongcheng.

The civilians were both men and women. Men did the hard labor, and women were not all required to serve others. It depended on their own wishes. Those who did not want to serve the wounded could wash clothes and wash and boil gauze. The gauze taken off the wounded bandages could be reused after washing and drying.

The boiling pot was filled with steam, and local women of different ages stood by the pot with long poles to stir the gauze. The cooked gauze was picked out with a long pole, and after cooling down a little, it was washed and boiled again.

In the southeast corner of the wounded camp, more than 20 young boys of the same age as Wang Zhizheng were working hard to process the medicinal materials. Cutting, grinding, pressing, pounding..., the teenagers in their teens were wearing white masks and white coats, concentrating. They were the child soldiers in the Fu Han Army's military medical system!