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The Qing army crossed the Han River and was attacking Hanyang City. Two hours into the battle, news came that the situation in Hanyang was critical and the atmosphere in the side hall of the General Staff began to become tense.
As the saying goes, a person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree. Over the years, the reputation of the Tartars for being fierce and fierce has been deeply rooted in people's hearts.
What's more, even Li Zicheng's battle-hardened troops suffered repeated defeats. They were chased all the way from Shanhaiguan to Guanzhong, and then from Guanzhong to Wuchang, where they were as panic-stricken as a dog that had lost its home.
When people talk about Tartars, it can stop children from crying at night.
This time, the Qing army attacked fiercely for two hours and put the well-prepared Hanyang City under pressure. No one in the Qin army dared to doubt the powerful fighting power of the Tartars.
Qin Mu asked in a deep voice: "Can we still withdraw troops to reinforce Hanyang?"
Currently, there are only Liu Yongzhi's 10,000 infantry and Su Jin's 5,000 cavalry in Hanyang City. However, Su Jin's 5,000 cavalry are not suitable for city defense.
He Liang shook his head and pointed at the sand table and said, "Please look, sir. To the west, in Shuanghegou, there are 60,000 Dashun troops led by Li Guo and Gao Yigong, followed closely by Shang Kexi's 40,000 Qing troops. Hanyang and Wuchang are under pressure from Ajige's nearly 40,000 elite troops. In Huangzhou, Li Zicheng's 200,000 troops are also likely to seek an opportunity to cross the river, and Wu Sangui's 30,000 troops must also be guarded against. In Anqing, there are Zuo Menggeng's 200,000 troops. In total, our army is facing pressure from nearly 600,000 troops."
He Liang's words were not exaggerated at all. Although these 600,000 troops each had their own leaders, they all had ulterior motives;
Once a certain group of troops crosses the river, the defense line of Huguang and Jiangxi will be broken immediately.
The Qin army will be caught in a disorderly chaos, and Huguang and Jiangxi will inevitably be filled with smoke and death.
He Liang continued, "Currently, Ling Zhan is guarding Jingmen with 10,000 troops; Zhao Jian is guarding Chengtian with 10,000 troops, and Li Jiu has 5,000 cavalry to assist in the defense of Jingmen and Chengtian. Ning Yuan is guarding Jingzhou with 10,000 troops;
Han Xiu guarded Yuezhou with 5,000 troops. Liu Meng guarded Dazhi, Huanggang, Makou, and Xingguozhou east of Wuchang with 35,000 troops.
Meng Ke had to defend Jiujiang, Pengze, and Chizhou, which cost him another 50,000 troops. Cui Feng defended Nanchang with 10,000 troops. Xiang Liancheng stayed in Ganzhou with 5,000 troops.
Counting the 15,000 troops of Liu Yongzhi and Su Jin in Hanyang, a total of 155,000 troops have been lost. Wuchang City is currently defended by only Ma Yongzhen's 10,000 troops. It is really not appropriate to withdraw more troops from Wuchang across the river. "
200,000 versus 600,000, and we must try our best to keep Huguang and Jiangxi, at least for two months, because it is already late April and the summer harvest is approaching, we must keep it for another two months, and then make other arrangements after the summer harvest.
Now countless people are fleeing to Jiangxi and Huguang. They need a lot of food to save their lives, so it is very important to protect this year's summer harvest. In this way, the Qin army will undoubtedly be under great pressure and its manpower will be stretched to the limit.
Zhuge Min, who was present, said hesitantly: "Sir, why don't we abandon Hanyang and withdraw the entire army to the south bank, and then attack the Qing army when they are halfway across the river."
Qin Mu answered firmly: "No! This is the first battle, we must not retreat even a step, not give up an inch of land. Come. Bring me my armor, I will personally go to Hanyang to supervise the battle, I don't believe that the Tartar has three heads and six arms. Even if he has three heads and six arms, I will kill him without leaving a single piece of armor."
"Sir, no! You are the commander-in-chief of the three armies. How can you take it lightly when facing arrows and stones?"
"The commander-in-chief of the three armies cannot personally face the arrows and stones. Who said that? Listen, help me prepare the coffin. In this battle, if the city is destroyed, I will live. If the city is destroyed, I will die."
Everyone tried to dissuade him, but Qin Mu resolutely put on his armor, grabbed the Juque sword with his right hand, and closed the cold iron mask with his left hand with a "snap", as if to block out all the voices of dissuasion outside the iron mask.
During the whole process, only Sima An remained silent, because he knew why Qin Mu had to come to Hanyang to supervise the battle in person. Sima An could even guess that when necessary, Qin Mu would most likely charge into the battle himself.
But he did not say a word of dissuade. He just made arrangements silently and secretly instructed Niu Wanshan.
Qin Mu and his personal guards had just boarded the boat to cross the river when a voice suddenly came from the shore. Qin Mu looked back and saw a light cloud approaching.
Li Xiangjun embraced a pipa, with a heart-shaped bun on her head and a jade hairpin inserted in it. She wore a heart-shaped silk dress and an eight-piece Xiangshui skirt. Her lips were red without any makeup, and her eyebrows were green without any painting. She looked like a light cloud covering the moon, and like snow drifting in the wind. Her bright and beautiful figure reached the extreme.
"What are you doing here?" Qin Mu glared at her and shouted.
Li Xiangjun smiled sweetly: "My master wants to live and die with Hanyang, so why would I live alone? As long as Hanyang is here, my master is here; as long as my master is here, I am here..."
"Nonsense! Go back quickly. Fighting on the battlefield is a man's job."
"Why don't men take Wu Gou and take over the fifty states of Guanshan? My lord, you have lived up to your ambitions. How can I go back on my word? I will sing a song of the general's order and wait for your triumphant return." Li Xiangjun smiled gracefully, as light as Xiang Fei wading through water. Finally, she added, "Doesn't my lord have the confidence to win?"
Qin Mu was stunned for a moment, then he laughed out loud. Yes, there is nothing to worry about. Hanyang City is there and Xiangjun is safe. If Hanyang City is destroyed, the worst that can happen is that they can just be a pair of mandarin ducks with the same fate.
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The Hanyang City was filled with gunpowder smoke, which was blew away by the sad whistling wind from the river, blocking out the dim sunlight in the sky. The earth-shaking sounds of fighting echoed like waves, and the grass and trees below the city were all broken, and dust was flying.
Wave after wave of Qing troops, stepping on the blood and corpses on the ground, tightly grasping cold swords and shields, baring their grim white teeth, and roaring like thunder, rushed towards the city wall;
A little further away, beyond the dust shaken by the strong wind, the sound of horns could be heard one after another.
The proud Tartars, the proud battle flags, and the eyes that regarded life as worthless, penetrated the smoke and dust and nailed directly onto the city wall.
A hail of arrows, like an air current brought about by countless shouts, rushed to the top of the city, crackling like heavy rain hitting banana leaves. If the Qin army on the top of the city was careless at the slightest mistake, the arrowheads would penetrate the flesh and blood would splatter.
Boom! Boom! The bombs dropped by the Qin army created a bunch of sparks among the enemy, with broken limbs and blood, brilliant and weird, like the devil fire blooming in hell, devouring the flesh and blood.
Rows of ladders were placed on the city walls. Groups of Tartars with ferocious eyes were struggling to climb up. Rocks were whistling down, the ladders broke with a bang, and the Tartars fell like flying, screaming in agony.
Some fierce white-armored soldiers rushed to the top of the city wall and started a life-and-death fight with the Qin army on the top of the city wall. These murderous white-armored soldiers waved their swords and chopped down the surrounding Qin soldiers one by one, just like painting with swords dipped in blood.
Their white armor was of very fine quality, and except for a few exposed areas, their entire body was almost impervious to swords and guns.
The Qin army rushed forward one after another, bayoneting and slashing with swords, but most of the time it was in vain. It was often necessary for the squad leader to organize all the soldiers in the squad to charge forward at a desperate moment before they could completely tear the white armor down from the city.
The Qin army fought back desperately and crushed the Qing army's offensive again. The drums and horns stopped and the Qing army temporarily retreated in the thick smoke. The top of the city was soaked in blood and the wounded soldiers groaned, which was heartbreaking.
The city was covered with layers of corpses and body parts, and the thick smell of blood made people want to vomit;
The bleak sunlight cannot penetrate the smoke, as if ghosts are gathering under the dark clouds;
The grass stems on the ground were all broken, broken arrows were scattered all over the ground, and the injured but not dead war horses were wailing miserably, which was a heartbreaking sight.
Liu Yongzhi, the main general of the Qin army, was also wounded in two places. His face was blackened by smoke, and his clothes and armor were stained with blood. He was still yelling on the top of the city, ordering the soldiers to carry arrows and stones to prepare for the next round of fierce attack from the Qing army.
The people living under the city, under the organization of Yue Zhongliang, the military deputy, took advantage of this gap to rush to the top of the city.
Some helped to carry away arrows and stones, some brought hot food and water, and some helped to carry away the wounded.
Wu Youxing and the military doctors from the Medical Department worked against the clock in a temporarily vacated civilian house to help the injured soldiers perform surgery to remove arrows, apply medicine and stitches, bandage wounds, and give blood transfusions to save lives. The scene was very chaotic, with roars and groans everywhere.
In the past, the Qin army had mostly faced bandits and rebels, and had never faced such a ferocious enemy. Although they had undergone nearly two years of hard training, most of the soldiers lacked experience in major battles.
Now, facing such a fierce enemy right from the start, many Qin soldiers were in a panic and could not exert even 50% of their usual combat effectiveness;
As a result, there were heavy casualties and the city’s defenses were soon in danger.
Various rumors about the invincibility of the Jurchens began to spread among the Qin troops on the city walls, causing their morale to gradually decline.
Many people began to think about retreating, and discussed that they should retreat across the river and use the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to stop the enemy.
At this moment, a large black flag with the word "Qin" on it appeared on the top of the city wall. It was mysterious and solemn, fluttering in the smoke.
When the Qin soldiers on the city wall saw the black flag, they suddenly fell silent...
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ps: I wrote this very seriously, carefully considering every word, trying my best to portray a passionate and tragic war scene for book lovers. I look forward to your encouragement.
.(To be continued..)
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