Yuezhou, West City Gate, Ruins of Yueyang Tower.

Eight hundred miles of Dongting smoke and waves are vast, steaming clouds and dreams, shaking Yueyang City.

A fleet of 1,000 sand boats, long dragons, fast crabs, and sampans sailed past Chenglingji one after another, and Chen Shangchuan's rear admiral flag waved in the wind on a fast crab ship, and in the rumbling salute and war drums, the cloud-like sail mast slowly pressed downstream, and the momentum was moving.

On land, the army had crossed the River of New Walls.

More than 1,000 Green Camp captives drooped their heads, strung up by ropes, and escorted backwards.

The sunset shines in the west, the flag hunts, the war horse roars, and the north wind is Xiaoxiao.

The Imperial Division was on the left, the Calvary Division was on the right, and the two invincible columns marched on both sides of the Yangtze River towards Hanyang and Wuchang respectively.

Whenever there was a confrontation between the north and the south, the Xinqiang River, which flowed into Dongting Lake from east to west, naturally became the division between the two armies, and on the Xinqiang River, Li Laiheng's cavalry confronted the Tatars for more than half a year.

When autumn came, the main force of the army, which had completed the orderly reorganization, crossed the Nanling Ridge and entered Hunan, and the sit-down war on both sides of the Xinqiang River was immediately broken. The battle flags of the two cavalry regiments of Hewan and Houjiang appeared on the left bank of the Xinqiang River, and Aobai burned the camp and led the army to retreat to Wuchang in a hurry.

Ao Bai retreated at the first time to avoid an immediate blow, but the defense lines of Yuezhou and Xinqianghe, which the Tatars had painstakingly managed at hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, were abandoned, and Yuezhou and the subsequent Linxiang and Puqi were slaughtered. Hunan's local green battalions, regimental training, and township soldiers deserted one after another, surrendered, revolted, and finally retreated to Wuchang with about 60,000 soldiers.

Abandoning Yuezhou means that the Yangtze River is open to order, and it is flowing down from the upper reaches.

Shou ordered to divide his troops in Xiangyin, and the Dianbai Brigade supported Li Laiheng to the west, often attacking Jingzhou. Wu Fan's army abandoned the city and retreated into Chenzhou, Xiangxi. The Li tribe carried enough captured weapons and supplies to arm the 30,000 troops, and established contact with the Liu Tichun division of the former Shun army, which had held out in Kuimen for nearly 20 years. Aside from the names of the high-ranking generals, the camp in Kuimen has little to do with the rogue forces that crisscrossed the Central Plains 20 years ago, they are resistance forces that defend on the spot.

The remnants of the camp, which had been given sufficient weapons and equipment, quickly recovered from the encirclement and suppression, and repelled Li Guoying in several directions, and Li Guoying, the puppet governor of Sichuan, who was seized by the Wu Domain, had to retreat into Chongqing, except for the more than 10,000 soldiers in his headquarters, the rest of the green battalion troops fell to Wu Sangui.

The orderly forces were not enough to control the vast occupied areas, except for the Xiangjiang River, the Yangtze River and other communication arteries, the rest of the areas were handed over to the general army, and the orderly revolt and surrendered troops were appointed, and he welcomed the arrival of the camp with open hands.

Well-armed and well-stocked, Li Laiheng soon became the co-leader of the Kuimen camp, and he was supposed to be the leader of the alliance there, only this time, instead of the poor militia struggling in the mountains, he led a regular army better equipped than the Tatars. Li Laiheng, Liu Tichun, Hao Shaoqi, He Daoning and others confronted Li Guoying in Kuimen on the one hand, and surrounded Jingzhou City on the other. Unlike Li Guo's attack on Jingzhou more than ten years ago, this time, Yierde, the capital of Jingzhou, did not expect to receive reinforcements.

The main force of the Dianbai Brigade was stationed in Changde, the 11th Brigade of the Youth League Division was stationed in Changsha, the 12th Brigade of the division was stationed in Hengzhou, the 2nd Brigade of the Guard Flag Division was stationed in Guilin, and the 30,000 Ming Army and the New Annexed Army were stationed in the prefectures and counties on the left bank of the Xiangjiang River. The Youth League division has just formed its combat effectiveness, and it will continue to train and strengthen its combat effectiveness during the station.

Arrange the communication line, and lead the 2nd and 3rd divisions and the Guards Brigade to embark on the road of the Northern Expedition, and attack Wuchang and Hanyang through Yuezhou.

Before leaving, Shou ordered Zhou Jin, who had recently been promoted from Qinzhou Bingbei Road to the governor of Hunan, to rebuild Yueyang Tower, this famous monument was destroyed by fire a few years ago, and it has been abandoned so far, and the Tatars can't repair it, so it will be repaired by the Ming army.

Zhou Jin happily accepted the order, this is a good way to declare orthodoxy.

Shou Xiang boarded the Junshan, the flagship of the Yangtze River Fleet, at Chenglingji, a modified galiot galley battleship, which was nothing on the sea, but in the Yangtze River, it was a first-class warship.

Shipbuilding is fast and cheap, the cost of the hull of the entire Yangtze River fleet is only 50,000 taels, which is outrageously cheap, and it takes nearly one year to complete the guns and sailors, and this fleet can easily control the Yangtze River.

There were occasional strong winds on Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River, and the fleet had to leave enough space to sail and anchor to avoid continuous shipwrecks.

Along the way, there were constant attacks by enemy warships, and the closer you got to Wuchang, the more frequent the battles became. The Tatars organized the wooden rows into a water city, about 60 meters wide, built a city tower on it, surrounded by cowhide and mud, guns and cannons on all sides, surrounded by dozens of sampan guards, the Tatars took off their hats, and demonstrated to the Yangtze River fleet at the head of the water city.

The Water City looked impregnable and was the source of the morale of the enemy's sailors. The Yangtze River fleet engaged the enemy with sampans, and the galleys and gunboats fired at close range, and the 18-pounder guns and heavy mortar guns mounted on the bow of the ships quickly crushed the water city, and half of the water city collapsed, and the Tatars still opened fire in the smoke until the whole platoon was on fire and the watchtower toppled over.

Four water cities in a row were bombarded by ship-borne 18-pounder cannons and mortars, the fleet swept across the Yangtze River, and the Tatar warships were burned, surrendered, or fled, and the resistance became weaker and weaker.

The resistance on the shore is negligible, and when two divisions encounter enemy fortified batteries or large battalions, they only need to send infantry carrying two light howitzers to detour behind enemy lines, and the green battalion will usually bomb the camp, and the result is the same as on the water, either death, surrender, or escape, and the fortifications and fortifications are almost useless, and the enemy is too afraid of being detoured.

By the time they approached Wuchang, the coalition forces had wiped out more than 10,000 Tatar soldiers.

Aobai's main force was not in Wuchang, his troops were assembled in Hankou Town, with the right bank of the Han River, Hanyang on the left bank of the Yangtze River, and Wuchang on the right bank of the Yangtze River as shields.

The Imperial Division on the left bank advanced to the north of Hanyang with a decisive maneuver, surrounded the northern suburbs of Hanyang, set up 12-pounder guns on the Han River, cut off the Han River shipping, and the Calvary Division, supported by 24-pounder siege guns and 10-inch heavy mortar guns, broke through the city defense and occupied Wuchang in only one day.

Three days later, the Imperial Division captured Hanyang, spending most of its time on cannon transport, and the resistance of the Tatars was negligible, although the defenders of the two cities numbered as many as 16,000, they were too weak.

Ao Bai and the Eight Banners watched in horror as the two fortified cities were easily lost, and the army's hearts were shaken. Ao Bai must abandon the fortress of Hankow, which was armed with hundreds of red-coated cannons on ship gun mounts, and accept the battle, otherwise his axis of battle will be cut off, and the whole army will collapse while waiting for him.

The Tatars' armament was improving, they were armed with flintlock muskets in small numbers, and they had field guns. The enemy army received reinforcements from the Jiujiang battalion, with a total of more than 60,000 people, equipped with 30 Wucheng Yonggu cannons, 71 Shenwei invincible cannons, and more than 30 Weiyuan cannons that fired explosive shells, which were howitzers, in addition, the enemy army was also equipped with hundreds of light field guns such as the Golden Dragon Cannon and the Shenwei General Cannon that fired 1 to 2 catties of projectiles.

The Kamui Invincible General Cannon weighed about half a ton to 1 ton and fired shells from 6 to 12 pounds.

General Wu Cheng Yonggu's cannon weighed 2 to 3 tons and fired shells from 12 to 24 pounds.

General Weiyuan's gun weighed 200 kg and fired a 20-pound grenade.

The enemy's field artillery is all bronze cannons, well-cast, exquisite patterns, reasonable diameter, very strong gun carriages, 2 rounds of light field guns, 3 rounds of Shenwei invincible general cannons, 4 rounds of Wucheng Yonggu general cannons, far better than the artillery equipped by the Ming army in those years.

Shou Orderly put down the binoculars, under the familiar, medieval and even ancient banners, the Tatars got a lot of good things, they were much better than the Ming Dynasty in learning military technology, but this did not determine the overall situation.

The Yangtze River Fleet managed to pull 80 sampans into the Han River through several lakes west of Hanyang, where they confronted the remaining enemy naval divisions with the support of artillery on the shore.

The Guards Brigade, the Heavy Cavalry Brigade, and the 6th Brigade of the Calvary Division crossed the Yangtze River, and the Imperial Division broke through the Han River defense line 20 kilometers north of Hanyang, establishing a bridgehead and erecting a pontoon bridge large enough for 12-pounder gun carriages.

Three and a half infantry brigades and four light cavalry regiments were deployed on flat ground, with one Guards Infantry Regiment, Guards Cavalry and Heavy Cavalry Brigade as reserves.

The right flank of the army was on the Han River, and the left flank was protected by 3 light cavalry regiments, and 1 light cavalry regiment also drove to the left flank after covering the infantry to spread the battle line.

The army was slightly weaker than half that of the Tatars, but the enemy had a large number of almost useless infantry with pure cold weapons, and they had to increase the depth of the front, so the width of the two armies was basically the same.

Orderly summoned the commanders of the brigades and regiments: "Gentlemen, tell your officers and men that if you win this battle, the rich Yangtze River valley will be open to us, and countless gold, silver and beautiful women are waiting for your conquest, breaking through the Tatar front, pressing them to the Yangtze River, and drowning them. ”

In a show of hands, the young officer returned to the unit.

The offensive begins.

The artillery fired in unison, and in the open field on the left flank, the Calvary Division attacked in a dense column, with the Han River covering on the right flank, and the Imperial Division attacked in a loose formation, depending on the possible direction of the attack of the enemy cavalry.

It was still a Napoleonic offensive, with concentrated artillery, cavalry assaults, and infantry keeping up with the occupied front, like a textbook.

Eight field artillery batteries concentrated cover on the left flank, and the rapid fire of iron bullets shredded the enemy's flank line.

4 cavalry regiments were deployed, 3 regiments swept through the enemy horse corps in a brisk march, and 1 regiment stormed the enemy artillery positions and nailed the artillery.

The Calvary Division arched its flanks in a bull-like formation, then turned right and fired a deadly volley of guns.

Three mounted artillery batteries rushed into position, setting up 18 cannons and firing longitudinally, first sweeping away the neighboring Tatars with heavy shotguns, and then grinding out bloody alleys with solid bullets.

The Imperial Division and the 1st Guards Regiment, a total of 5 infantry regiments, pressed the Tatars frontally in horizontal formations and skirmishers.

In desperation, Ao Bai launched the last horse charge.

Orderly threw into the brigade of heavy cavalry in shining cuirasses, beautiful red tassels swayed on helmets, Tatars were knocked off their horses in rows, and weak archers were scum with only 5 combat strength.

During the assault, the Calvary Division encountered heavy casualties under intense enemy artillery fire, but the soldiers of this division were completely insane, and they attacked with bayonets, breaking the Tatar front one by one.

In the end, as many as 40,000 chaotic pigtailed soldiers were squeezed to the Yangtze River.

Cavalry and infantry surrounded the past, 20 cavalry guns fanned out, solid shells, grenades, grenades, heavy shotguns, no matter what kind of shells, all caused heavy casualties in the enemy soldiers' piles, and thousands of corpses lay down in the Yangtze River and drifted downstream.

The infantry pressed forward, regardless of whether it was water or not, and the Tatars were squeezed into the Yangtze River.

The commander of the 2nd Army, Filhoff, found the order: "Many enemy troops asked for surrender. ”

Shou Xiang smiled heavily, "Send a herald and order the whole army, and no Tatar troops will be accepted to surrender in this battle." ”

When the battle was over, the setting sun covered the river, and there were 60,000 corpses on the battlefield. The brutal Calvary Division cut off 20,000 heads, and the soldiers carried their braided heads to bayonets and flagpoles, covered in blood. The people who watched the battle told their neighbors about the hellish battlefield, and the news spread to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and to the north.

The First Battle of Hankou decided the fate of the whole of China, and the Northern Expeditionary Army gained geographical advantages, went down the river, broke Tianjiazhen and Fuchikou fortresses, and arrived in Jiujiang half a month later.

Luo Keduo, the king of Tatar Pingjun, led 20,000 remnants of his army to abandon Jiangnan, retreated to Jiangbei, lost all his heavy artillery, and fled to Henan by land.

One month later, the soldiers came to the city of Nanjing.

The king of the enemy Xinjun led the remnants of the army to abandon Hangzhou and retreat north along the Grand Canal. The 5th Division and the Ming army of Rong Zhen, Zhejiang stuck to Doni, and the Tatars withdrew more and more troops, and the number of troops was as high as 70,000 when they set off from Hangzhou, and when Doni arrived at Zhenjiang, there were only more than 10,000 Eight Banner soldiers left.

The Tatars did not dare to reinforce Nanjing, and under the indifferent gaze of the people in the south of the Yangtze River, they discarded all their baggage and most of their war horses, and fled back to Jiangbei in small boats.

This time, Nanjing became an isolated city, with no hope of receiving reinforcements.

Lang Tingzuo committed suicide in despair, and the officials of the whole city of Nanjing were liquidated. 8)