Hubei, Qingshan Town. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

At noon, it is the day when the sun is poisonous, the sun hangs high in the sky, the ground is hot, even the leaves are sunburned and there is no life, at this time there is generally no one rushing under the sun, but there is a cavalry of more than 100 people galloping on the post road, many crops are heartbroken, of course, the heartache is the horse.

At the gate of the Navy Division's camp, seeing the galloping horse team, Chen Hongming, the commander of the Navy Division, didn't care about the scorching sun, and walked out quickly, and said loudly: "Is it necessary to rush so much on such a poisonous day?" ”

"Didn't you want to arrive half a day early?" Yan Yangtian dismounted neatly, he didn't want to rush against the sun, but there was no way, his troops were already two days later than the scheduled time, this would go to see Yi Zhi, he was also worried about being trained, and dropped the reins, he looked the other party up and down, and said with a smile: "I heard that you are also a father?" Or a big fat boy? ”

"What's the matter, only want you to be a father?" Chen Hongming smiled: "Why don't we have a doll kiss?" ”

"Then we'll have to look at your boy." Yan Yangtian lowered his voice as he spoke, "The principal is taking a lunch break?" ”

"Nope." Chen Hongming said: "Hurry up and wash it in." ”

The Chinese army's tent is located in the shade of the trees at the foot of Jitou Mountain, it is not very hot, Yi Zhizhi sat on the chair and casually flipped through the "Jiangning Daily" sent in, during this time, the newspaper was full of articles about the Ottoman Turkish Empire, this huge empire established and ruled by the Turks had too many similarities with the Qing Empire.

He hoped that the people of insight in the Qing Dynasty could learn from the current situation and situation of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and also hoped that through the nine Russo-Turkish wars that lasted for nearly 200 years, the entire Qing Dynasty and the opposition would have a clear understanding of Russia's greed and ambition -- the never-ending expansion of foreign countries.

Chen Hongming opened the curtain of the door and saluted and reported: "Principal, Yan Yangtian is out asking to see." ”

"Come in." Yi Zhishu put down the newspaper in his hand, reached out and took a sip of the teacup.

Yan Yangtian strode in, stood up and saluted: "The student is late, please ask the principal to deal with it." ”

"Write it down for now." Yi Zhishu said slowly, Jiang Ning is more than a thousand miles away from Wuchang, and now it is dog days, and there is a lot of baggage, it is already very good to be able to arrive within half a month, he has no intention of pursuing it, and said, he pointed to the chair, "Sit down." ”

After the two of them sat down, he asked, "You should know the battle plan for attacking Changsha, right?" ”

Taking advantage of the opportunity to wash, Chen Hongming had already made a simple breath of the proposed plan to directly send troops to attack Changsha, and Yan Yangtian hurriedly said: "I just heard about it. ”

"Rest for three days, march to Yuezhou, first cooperate with the Yangtze River Naval Division to capture Chenglingji, Yuezhou, and control Dongting Lake." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The Taiping Army is not comparable to the Twist Army, and it must be prepared for long-term battles and hard battles." ”

"The students obeyed." Yan Yangtian and Chen Hongming responded in unison.

Out of the big tent, Yan Yangtian asked: "Who is the guard general of Yuezhou, just briefly explain the situation." ”

"What's the hurry?" Chen Hongming said with a smile: "The Yuezhou guard is the autumn official and the prime minister. ”

Yan Yangtian is a mess of the official system of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and he doesn't know what this Qiu official is at all? Without waiting for him to ask, Chen Hongming smiled and said: "The official system of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has a peculiar name, there is no distinction between civil and military, many people are confused, to put it simply, the official system of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is divided into thirteen classes, the first class is the kings, the second class is the princes, and the third class is the prime minister."

The highest level of the prime minister is the prime minister of the six officials - heaven, earth, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and each prime minister is divided into four levels: positive, positive, paid, and paid.

The Taiping Army's sole general is mostly the prime minister's officer, which can not be underestimated, known as 'General Fei' in the Taiping Army, is the only veteran in the Taiping Army, and is brave and ...... ”

"How are military positions divided? What are the job titles? Yan Yangtian then asked.

"The positions in the army are the highest in the general system, in order, they are the superintendent, the army commander, the division commander, the brigade commander, the pawn commander, and the two horses." Speaking of this, Chen Hongming turned his head and said: "I heard the principal mention last time, we also have to rectify the establishment, I don't know if it is a pre-war or post-war ......" ”

"It's not a rectification and preparation, it's an upgrade." Yan Yangtian said: "Promoted to the army, an army ranges from 30,000 to 40,000, 50,000 or 60,000, whether it is before or after the war, it is difficult to say." ”

Hearing this, Chen Hongming was a little depressed, he is now the Admiral of the Yangtze River Naval Division, I am afraid that he will miss the opportunity to be promoted, but thinking that Yan Yangtian is also the Admiral of Luzon, there are some expectations in his heart.

Yuezhou, Chenglingji.

Chengling Rock is one of the three famous rocks of the Yangtze River, the south of Sanxiang, the north control Jinghan, the throat of the Yangtze River through the Dongting Lake, has always been the place where the soldiers must fight, in the peaceful years, Chengling Rock is also a famous commercial port on the Yangtze River, is the place where the goods of the three Hunan and four rivers are collected and distributed, the grain is transported to the north, the Huaiyan comes from the south through here, the business is no less prosperous than Yuezhou, known as "Little Nanjing".

As the sun set, the sixty-year-old autumn official of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was the prime minister - Yu Tianyang stood on the city wall and looked at the direction of Wuchang for a long time without saying a word, all the time, the Qing army did not send troops to attack Yuezhou, because even if Yuezhou was defeated, it could not be defended, and without the backing of a strong sailor, it was impossible to gain a foothold in Yuezhou, this kind of thankless thing, the Qing army was naturally unwilling to do.

This time, Yuan Qi sent troops to attack Yuezhou, which means that the Yangtze River Water Division is also about to be dispatched to occupy Dongting Lake, what will be the consequences of the Taiping Army Water Battalion losing Dongting Lake, Yu Tianyang is naturally clear, but it is precisely because he is clear that he is worried.

"General." Brigade Marshal Wu Yunqi walked quickly behind him and saluted: "The spies have come to report that the Qing Demon Army is less than a hundred miles away from Chenglingji, and it is expected that the vanguard will arrive at dusk tomorrow." ”

Yu Tianyang turned around and said, "What about the water master?" Is there any trace of issuance? ”

"The sailor still hasn't moved."

It seems that the fleet of the Yangtze River Naval Division did not participate in the war, and Cao Tianyang put his mind at ease, so that even if they can't hold Yuezhou, they can retreat calmly, and the edict of the King of the East is very clear, if they can't hold it, retreat! Be sure to preserve your strength. Come to think of it, the Yangtze River Navy Fleet is also very precious to those steam gunboats, and I am afraid that the water battalion will use fire to attack, but without a fleet, the other party can hold Yuezhou?

After a slight groan, he asked in a deep voice: "The army is with you, but there is heavy artillery?" ”

"Back to the general." Wu Yunqi hurriedly said: "Yes, there should be thirty or forty heavy cannons, and the accompanying mule and horse captains are several miles." ”

Could it be that all the heavy artillery in Wuchang was transferred? Cao Tianyang's heart moved, if this is really the case, it is a rare opportunity for the water camp, but this idea is also a flash, there is no exact information, he does not dare to take this risk, once the water camp goes down the river, it is the pawn who crosses the river, there is no advance or retreat, he can't afford to lose.

After a slight sigh, Yu Tianyang said in a deep voice: "Pass on my order, the fortifications such as the trenches and earthen walls and fortresses outside the city must be completed before sunset tomorrow." ”

Chenglingji chokes the throat of Dongting Lake through the Yangtze River, in terms of location, it is more important than Yuezhou, and Yu Tianyang concluded that the new army of Yuanqi must attack Chenglingji first, and deploy heavy artillery to hold the Yangtze River.

Early the next morning, Cao Tianyang led a group of subordinates to inspect the fortifications outside the city, and he had not fought with the Yuanqi New Army in recent years, however, when the Wuchang War, the artillery of the Yuanqi New Army still made him remember it vividly, it was the first time he saw the overwhelming shelling, before that, he had never seen and did not expect that the artillery could still be used like that, and the power of the flowering bomb was so great, however, it was also the kind of wealthy master of the Yuanqi New Army that would be so defeated, at least the Qing Demon, even the Eight Banners New Army had never seen such a generous one.

It is precisely because he knows that the artillery of the new army of Yuanqi is powerful, so he has put a lot of effort into the fortifications of Chenglingji, the trenches, earthen walls, and fortresses are layered on top of each other, intersecting each other, he never thought that he could win, after all, he only has 20,000 elites in his hands, and in the case of few troops and backward weapons, it is a strange thing to be able to win, he only hopes to lose beautifully, and it will be delayed for ten days and a half months.

When the sun set, Yu Tianyang still climbed the wall, and after a while, the brigade commander Wu Yunqi dared to come over and report: "General Yu, the Qing Demon Advance arrived at the northern suburbs of Chenglingji, and camped on the bank of Bashohu ten miles away, with more than 6,000 troops. ”

"General." The military marshal Hou Yicheng bowed down and said: "The Qing demon's foothold is not stable, and his subordinates implore him to lead the army to attack the camp at night." ”

"Hmph." Yu Tianyang snorted coldly, "How can the battalion of the Yuanqi New Army be easy to steal?" Pass the order down, rest early, and nourish your spirits. ”

The next morning, Yan Yangtian and Chen Hongming led the main army to rush to the outside of Chenglingji, and the two of them boarded the lookout platform that was rushed overnight without resting, and took a closer look with a telescope. After a pause, he continued: "Will there be anti-shelling bunkers in the trenches?" ”

"Knowingly asked." Chen Hongming said straightforwardly: "Look at their trenches, they look like they are horizontal, vertical and vertical, but they are all straight, and you can see that you haven't learned home." As he spoke, he shook his head slightly, "It's very unwise to fight a positional battle with us!" How many troops does this city have in Lingji? ”

"According to intelligence, there are more than 10,000 people."

"That's an army." Chen Hongming said: "The Taiping Army has two full armies stationed in Yuezhou, with a total of 27,000 people, and in addition, there are five battalions of the water camp in Dongting Lake, with a total strength of more than 60,000 troops, but the possibility of the water camp landing is small. ”

Yan Yangtian smiled and said, "Although the mosquito is small, it is also meat, this is the first battle with the Taiping Army, make him dumplings." ”

Looking at the Yuanqi new army surrounded on three sides, Cao Tianyang's face was extremely ugly, and it was clear that the other party wanted to swallow the army of Chenglingji in one bite, originally he also thought that the Yangtze River Naval Division fleet was not dispatched and could calmly evacuate from the Yangtze River, but he could see that one heavy artillery was deployed to the riverside, and he knew that even if there was no Yangtze River Naval Division's fleet, the other party still had enough ability to block the riverside dock.

"Boom" The dull sound of artillery sounded, the shells fell far into the river, and the warships moored at the riverside pier panicked when they boarded, and the range of the heavy artillery had exceeded the dock, which meant that the warships moored at the riverside were within the range of the opponent's artillery!

Cao Tianyang also realized that he had made a serious mistake, the artillery of the Yuanqi New Army was far from being comparable to the artillery of the Eight Banners Green Battalion, his own fortifications were built around the city, the distance was too close, and the opponent's heavy artillery could easily hit four miles away, which was really fatal.

But Tian Tianyang knew that this was a test firing of artillery to adjust the angle of artillery and the amount of gunpowder to be filled, once it was determined, it would be a catastrophe, "Withdraw!" He immediately said in a deep voice: "All the warships withdraw to the other side of the river!" ”

Hou Yicheng hurriedly said: "The warship is withdrawn, I am afraid that the military will be unstable." ”

"Anchoring at the riverside pier is a live target." Yu Tianyang scolded: "What kind of army is unstable? Break the cauldron and sink the boat, fight against the water! ”

Break the cauldron and sink the boat, fight against the water! Yu Tianyang said loudly, but when he saw that the other party was leveling the ground in a large area five or six hundred meters away from the position, he began to go up and down in his heart, he knew very well what the purpose of leveling the ground was, it was an artillery position! Only artillery positions need to level the ground, and what does it mean to have a dozen artillery positions, large and small? However, when he thought of the trenches, he was slightly relieved that the trenches could greatly weaken the lethality of artillery!

Early the next morning, the genius was just bright, the dull sound of artillery broke the silence of dawn, a door mountain howitzer continued to carry out test firing, when I saw that there were shells accurately falling into the trenches, falling in the earthen wall, standing on the city wall, Yu Tianyang couldn't help but open his mouth wide, what kind of cannon is this, cannonballs can still turn? To his relief, the shell did not explode.

It's not just a flowering bomb! Secretly glad to himself, his face immediately changed, the other party was trying to shoot, naturally he wouldn't use a flowering bomb! He was immediately entangled in his heart, evacuating the fortifications outside the city? Is it safe to enter the city? Maybe you can hold out a little longer in the trenches.

He couldn't help but secretly regret in his heart, what kind of loss is decent, the idea of holding on for ten days and a half months was thrown to Java, and he should have evacuated overnight last night, after all, the order of the king of the east is to preserve his strength! If the casualties are too great, how to deal with them when you go back?

Just when he was suffering from gains and losses, the continuous cannon explosions shook the sky, and the ears of Zhizhen were buzzing with pain, saying that it was an exaggeration to say that ten thousand cannons fired at once, but it was not an exaggeration at all to fire a thousand cannons, Yan Yangtian once again showed the Taiping Army what is a loser-style artillery bombardment,

Bullets rained down, the position was full of fire, gunpowder smoke was filled, and the smoke and dust raised by the explosion shrouded the entire defensive position.

When did Yuan Qi have this kind of artillery that can fire curved shells, and there are still many of that kind of artillery, even hiding in the trenches, behind the earthen wall will be bombed, how can this battle be fought? Yu Tianyang was a little dumbfounded, and now he is not retreating, nor is he not retreating!