Dominate the Country

The Fuhan Army's general attack on the Qing troops' positions outside Dongcheng came quickly and fiercely.

Without enough time to move the artillery to the east of the city, Chen Ming concentrated the mortars in his hands and added 140 or 50 more to the Second Guard Division in one go. Then he decisively issued an order to attack the Qing troops' positions outside the east city. And it’s a three-sided attack!

Malantai, who was standing on the front line, was polishing his sword with the bricks and stones in the trench. Behind him was a splendid green dragon flag with a yellow background.

Malantai, a descendant of the Niu Gulu family, is still Qianlong's mother's nephew in terms of seniority. Although his official rank has been promoted to the third rank and first class guard, he has never even touched the battlefield. He is in the Qianqing clan. The bodyguards, compared with generals such as Changling, Ayintu, and Duan Xiulin, are as young as a delicate young lady. But now he had to come to the front line - this precarious place, otherwise Feng Sheng'e would definitely kill his head.

In the trench area outside the east gate, Feng Sheng'e sent out all his personal guards. Bastards like Malantai who were mixed in the center of the army were sent to the trenches to supervise the battle.

Malantai polished his sword, hoping that this precious sword left by his ancestors from the time of Emperor Kangxi would bring him martial luck. Suddenly, there was a roar in his ears. He raised his head and saw that his own artillery on the top of the city was firing one after another. Malantai knew without raising his head that the Fuhan Army's attack must have begun.

A burst of dust and smoke rose from the western position, and almost at the same time, the scream of mortar shells burst through the air!

Malantai's place was the northeast corner. He sat down at the bottom of the trench and did not enter the artillery hole. He didn't think that if he carried it so far, he would be stunned by the shells and fall into the tunnel. But..., the sharp sound is really getting closer!

Malantai was so shocked that he didn't even have time to get up, when he saw a ball of flames exploded two or three feet away on the right side of the tunnel. The bomb was really close, and it landed impartially in the trench. As soon as Malantai shouted, he was lifted high into the air by a wave of air, and then hit hard on the side wall of the tunnel, causing his whole body to feel numb.

His face was wet, and his nose could smell the strong smell of blood. He raised his head and saw that this section of the trench was filled with smoke, and there were screams coming from the trench, while the soldiers on the edge of this section of the trench were brave. They seemed to be avoiding the god of plague and left here one after another. Then two of his Goshihars stumbled over. They looked at Malantai nervously and opened their mouths to say something in Malantai's ear, but Malantai couldn't hear clearly.

The Fuhan Army had no cannons, but small artillery was unusually dense, especially on the front. Continuous shells exploded in front of the attacking troops. With the billowing black smoke and the cover of the night, Chen Ming felt that even the Qing army in Changzhou might not be able to see it. The offensive troops of the Second Division were guarding the front. The first round of shelling in Malantai interrupted the battle flag, and the subsequent overwhelming artillery fire made Malantai feel bad.

He mustered up all his strength and slapped away the two Geshiha who fell on him, and sat up unsteadily, "You two useless people. Why don't you help me to go to the bomb hole. There is no use in pressing me." With one cannon, the three of us will be reduced to a pile of mud." Then he continued to curse the Fuhan Army.

He knew that there would be bloody battles outside the east gate tonight. How could the 70,000 to 80,000 people in Changzhou City not expect that the other three sides would be lost so quickly? The Qing troops must defend the position outside the east gate, otherwise they will be completely locked in the city.

After Malantai cursed for a while, his ears regained some hearing, and he was dragged into a bomb-proof cave by two Goshiha. He could hear the sounds of crying, moaning and wailing filling the cave. He shouted loudly and cursed again on the spot, and the whole cave fell silent. But soon the muffled crying sounded in the cave again.

Malantai's eyes flashed fiercely, and he didn't want to hear crying now. Who is not afraid of death? He is also afraid. But he won't surrender. To Malantai, crying is a coward.

The war continues till now. Although there were not a few surrenders in the Qing army, except for the admirals, provincial officials, and generals, magistrates, and Taoists, there were all. However, none of the middle and high-level figures of the Eight Banners, especially those from the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners, surrendered.

Enduring the severe pain all over his body, Malantai moved over step by step, grabbed an Eight Banners officer who was wiping away tears and shouted: "Crying, mother, are you crying? Your Ama is not dead yet, why are you crying!?" This man is He is a nephew of Malantai. "Straighten up, I. Later, if we die on this battlefield, we will die facing Chen Ni. We must not embarrass our Niu Gulu clan."

It's a pity that Malantai's nephew not only has the same greed for life and fear of death, but also lacks Malantai's responsibility and dedication to the ancestors of the family. He raised his eyes and looked at himself, Malantai, with his mouth wide open and unable to speak a word.

The sound of gunfire outside the cave gradually faded away, and the dust falling overhead gradually decreased. Sporadic gunshots reached everyone's ears.

"It belongs to a man, so follow me! Remember it clearly, it costs ten taels of silver to chop off one head, ten taels of silver!"

Malantai's roar made everyone in the cave come back to their senses. Malantai was holding a knife and looking at everyone eagerly. No one dared to delay, and they all got out of the cannon-proof cave with their swords and guns.

Just when the Qing soldiers caught up with the position, Fuhan soldiers with bayonets and guns in their hands had already surged up. Gao Jinghui only invested three battalions of troops in this attack, one on each side, but he made the frontal momentum a bit louder, placing one to two hundred small and medium-sized plywood trucks.

Malantai is in the northeast corner of the Qing army, facing the attack of the Fu Han army in the north, but the Qing army's artillery fire here is relatively less. The firepower of the Qing army in the east city is 70% to 80% aimed at the front.

On Malantai's side, the Fu Han army's mortars are constantly firing, grenades are raining down, and the attacking troops of the Fu Han army are attacking through the trenches again. It is nonsense to rely on muskets to stop them. The battle on both sides is to throw grenades at each other first, and then pure hand-to-hand combat.

Malantai's nephew has disappeared in his eyes, and he doesn't know whether he is alive, dead, or escaped. It seems that there is only a quarter of an hour before the Qing army in the northeast corner can't hold on. But Malantai doesn't want to escape. Will he be chopped by Feng Sheng'e if he escapes back?

He is a Manchu, a member of the Niu Hulu clan, and the Niu Hulu clan is the emperor's mother's clan! It's okay to die on the battlefield, but dying in the hands of Feng Sheng'e is really a disgrace to the spirits of the ancestors in heaven. Although Malantai had never seen so much blood and so many dead bodies.

The sound of fighting soon fell in the northeast corner.

Malantai was still cursing, but his voice was getting smaller and smaller, and his vitality was disappearing faster and faster. The cold air covered his whole body, and his chest and abdomen were pierced by a bayonet. The gurgling blood took away his energy and would soon take away his consciousness.

…

Chen Ming had been paying attention to the battle situation in Dongcheng, but he did not go to the front line in person, because he was waiting for the Qing army cavalry to come. This moth flying into the fire.

The Qing army cavalry was not in Changzhou City, but cruised outside the city and retreated to the direction of Wuxi when it was dark.

And now, this batch of cavalry appeared in the west of Changzhou City.

"Report to the lord, Chen Ni's infantry has launched an assault on the positions outside the west gate! The morale of the government troops is low, and the northwest corner has fallen."

"Report..., Chen Ni's infantry has broken into the front line of the government troops, and the soldiers of the government troops are fighting desperately."

"Chen Ni's offensive is fierce, and the defenders of the positions outside the west gate are unable to resist. Now the positions outside the west gate have been lost!"

"..., Chen Ni has begun to attack the positions outside the north and south gates..."

A series of battle reports rushed to Wu Ge. Wu Ge was trembling in his heart, and he knew that the army's estimate was wrong. The defense line that Feng Sheng'e and his team had worked hard to build would really collapse overnight under Chen Ni's attack.

Cavalry!

Now we have to rely on only cavalry, and we can only rely on cavalry. Use cavalry to turn the tide.

"Send a message to the general, and let the city hold on. The cavalry is on the move."

Since the pacification of Amursana for more than ten years, he has not personally gone to the battlefield again. But Wu Ge was still sharp. The situation had come to the point where he still had the courage to fight to the death.

Although he didn't know whether Feng Sheng'e could stop the attack of the Fu Han Army outside the East Gate.

But that was Feng Sheng'e's business. What Wu Ge had to do now was what he could do.

About 4,000 cavalrymen moved slowly on the flat plains of Changzhou.

Wu Ge led them to make a big circle from the east of Changzhou and moved to the shore of Gehu Lake, seven or eight miles away from the No. 1 artillery position. He sharpened his sword and waited for the Fu Han Army to attack the East Gate. He would then make a galloping attack and kill the Fu Han Army's artillery. Unfortunately, Wu Ge didn't know that his caution was all in vain. Before he led the cavalry around the shore of Gehu Lake, Chen Ming "saw" a military spirit moving towards the flank of the Fu Han Army and ordered the reconnaissance troops to carefully explore the news over there.

A burst of high cheers suddenly broke out on the front line. Soon the news came that the attacking garrison 2nd Division had captured the northeast corner. Chen Ming and other high-ranking members of the Fu Han Army all showed heartfelt laughter at this moment.

The northeast corner has been opened, so how far is the southeast corner? Without both corners, the east side will also be over. If it weren't for the cavalry of the Qing army wandering outside, Chen Ming would have asked the artillery to move the cannons. At least move a batch of ten-jin and twelve-jin cannons to block the city gate.

The Second Garrison Division fought very well tonight, like a sharp sword, decisive and invincible!

So they have reason to cheer.

Chen Ming looked up to the west, he wanted to watch this cavalry of the Qing army turned into ashes. He believed that the Fu Han Army soldiers who had prepared in advance would never let him down.

More than 4,000 cavalry, in the dark night, like a hungry wolf quietly approached the artillery position. Before devouring the delicious fat meat of the artillery position, they also needed to tear apart the defense position of the Third Division on the periphery. Wu Ge certainly didn't think that his 4,000-plus cavalry could sweep away the entire garrison of the Fu Han Army's artillery. All he wanted was to get through, regardless of casualties, between the Fu Han Army's garrison positions, and then sweep away all the Fu Han Army's artillery.

Even if it meant sacrificing the entire cavalry!

Twenty minutes later, red emergency flares rose into the sky one after another. The Qing Army's cavalry was dispatched. The reconnaissance unit issued the highest level of warning.

"Soldiers, warriors of the Qing Dynasty,... Kill! Suppress the rebellion——"