The Qing army wanted to cross the river to attack Nanjing, and the most likely place to cross the river was Baiqiaodu in Hezhou and Guazhou in Yangzhou.

Both of these are large ferries that allow large armies to cross the river quickly.

It is not an easy task to cross the river to fight, if there are too few people crossing at one time, they will not be able to establish a foothold on the south bank, but will be easily annihilated by the men and horses on the south bank.

Therefore, if the Qing army wanted to cross the river, it must occupy a large ferry port and send a large number of men and horses across the river at one time.

After the Azig soldiers came to Yangzhou, they coveted the wealth of Yangzhou, so they decided to attack Yangzhou first.

Yangzhou is an important town in the north of the Yangtze River, in addition to its important military status, because of its geographical location, its commercial status is equally important.

The richest people in the south of the Yangtze River are basically gathered in Yangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing, among which the two Huai salt merchants who live in Yangzhou are the richest people in the world.

Faced with such a city with huge wealth, the Qing army naturally coveted Yangzhou City.

Therefore, Azig gathered a large army and urged the rebels to join the city, wanting to take Yangzhou City, but the Yangzhou defenders were stubborn, and the Qing army suffered thousands of casualties and failed to capture the city.

The huge casualties in the siege forced Azig to change his strategy.

He saw that there was a steady stream of reinforcements coming to Jiangbei from the south of the Yangtze River, so he immediately decided to first capture the ferry along the river and cut off the connection between the north and the south banks.

The Qing army was divided into multiple routes, and Nikan led the army to attack Hezhou and take Baiqiaodu, but Nikan was fiercely resisted by Huang Degong in Hezhou.

Nikan reported to Azig that Huang Degong had a large number of firearms and it was difficult for him to seize Baiqiaodu, so Azig turned to Yangzhou again and sent rebels to storm Guazhoudu.

Guazhou is located at the mouth of the Grand Canal, is the key place to control the canal and the Yangtze River, the fall of Guazhou means that Yangzhou City is in a desperate situation of isolation.

At this time, there were many gaps in the Jiangbei defense line, and even Liuhe opposite Nanjing also fell into the hands of the Qing army, and the Qing army mastered several small ferries and some ships, but the delivery capacity was limited, and the situation could be controlled.

The fall of Guazhou Ferry has a completely different significance, he not only indicates that Yangzhou is isolated, but also indicates that the Qing army has obtained a large ferry, as long as the ships are sufficient, it can send thousands of soldiers and horses, and at the same time cross the river, which will pose a huge threat to the south bank, and also pose a considerable threat to Nanjing.

Zhu Cihong got the news and immediately issued an order to let the Ming army recapture Guazhoudu at all costs.

Outside Zhenjiang City, the Ming army camp, thousands of soldiers are ready to go.

The newly recruited forbidden army of the imperial court was indeed overwhelmed, and the Japanese army fought very bravely, but after all, for the first time on the battlefield, they fought fiercely with the Qing army for ten days, lost their troops, and failed to recapture Guazhou.

Supervisor He Tengjiao could only transfer a few other troops to supplement the reinforcements.

The north wind was cold, and the wilderness outside Zhenjiang City was already covered with graves, and the wind blew, and the sky was full of flying paper money.

In a month's battle, many wounded soldiers were transported back to the south bank, but because they could not get good medical treatment, they died one by one, thousands of people have been buried outside the city, and the corpses left in Jiangbei are tens of thousands.

In Zhenjiang City, many families also have relatives who have died in battle, and the whole city is full of vegetarian and heart-rending cries.

In the era of cold weapons, regions with more and more economies have a lower desire for war, and they have a lower tolerance for the trauma caused by war.

The huge casualties caused by the war have shocked the people in the south of the Yangtze River, shaken their confidence, and have doubts about whether they can hold the defense of the river.

More than ten days ago, all parts of the country were still enthusiastic to rescue Jiangbei, but when the officers and soldiers who rushed to the scene, after a large number of people died in battle, the people did not wait for the news of victory, but waited for the news of the death of their relatives, seeing that so many people died in the battle, and failed to defeat the Qing army, the people and gentry were a little scared and a little desperate.

This time, the soldiers on the school field, there was no inspector review, no flag, no rhetoric, and the silent battle of the people and horses of all departments on the school field, there was no enthusiasm for the first batch of people crossing the river.

When the soldiers lined up on the school ground, in He Tengjiao's big tent, several officers were discussing how to recapture Guazhou.

He Tengjiao sat on the Taishi's chair, his spirit was a little sluggish, and he spoke after half a sound: "The Jiangbei War has been going on for nearly April, the official army has been defeated in successive battles, losing a large part of the territory, and the army has not won for a while, which is really a shame for the country!" Now that the morale of the army and the people is low and the reinforcements are reduced, the imperial court needs a victory too much to boost the morale of the army and the people. This time, you must recapture Guazhoudu and reinvigorate the morale of the people. ”

There are several generals standing in the hall, including Qianhu Zheng Sen of the Jiang Water Division, Wang Yan who supported the Japanese army, Gao Yiqi of the Hunan Army, and Gao Chengxun of the Wei Wu Army.

After the Battle of Yuezhou, Gao Yitong fled to Changsha, and was immediately taken into prison as a spy lock, originally to be made a case of collaborating with the enemy, but when he was dealing with official business, he found his file, and things took a turn for the better.

Plug Yinxi and Yang Wenyue are familiar with each other, he kept Gao Yitong down, and was ready to let Gao Yitong go to Liangguang to join Yang Wenyue, not wanting the war to break out, so Du Yinxi left him behind, and promoted him to the rank of official, so that he could come to King Qin with soldiers and horses.

When He Tengjiao transferred troops, he saw a reinforcement from Changsha on the document of the military department, so he transferred Gao Yijiao.

As for Gao Chengxun, it was also He Tengjiao who found out on the official document, and he also transferred it without hesitation.

After He Tengjiao finished speaking, Wang Yan spoke: "There are three thousand rebels on Guazhou Ferry, and there is also a Eight Banners of Niu Lu stationed there. They are very cunning, and when the sailors are shelling, they will first retreat to the back, and when the shelling is over, they will rush out and kill them. In addition, the three hundred Eight Banners soldiers are very powerful, and I have three Japanese soldiers, and I am not an opponent of the Eight Banners! You must not take this siege lightly. ”

Everyone in the tent looked a little solemn, but Gao Chengxun sneered: "It's just three hundred Tartars, if you meet my Wei Wujun, you will definitely kill him without leaving a piece of armor." ”

Gao Chengxun has more than 300 brothers under him, who have been transferred from the infantry army to the water division, and he has this self-confidence.

Wang Yan didn't like Wei Wujun in the first place, and when he heard Gao Chengxun's words, he immediately became angry, Wei Wujun is amazing, Gao Yihuan's people are so uneducated, "It's a good thing that General Gao has confidence, but he can't be arrogant!" What this official said is to exchange blood for experience, if you don't think so, you will suffer a loss! ”

Gao Chengxun said: "I don't think so, it's because I have this strength." ”

Wang Yan was furious, but He Tengjiao waved his hand and said, "Okay." It's a mule or a horse, and it's clear on the battlefield. Guazhou Ferry is just around the corner, this parish will wait and see, you don't let this parish down. Remember, the court needs a victory too much. ”

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(End of chapter)