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"General Liu, the 5th Brigade has broken through the defense line of the Qing army, and the Qing army has now retreated to the city of Hankou. Is it possible to let the 23rd Brigade cross the river? Major General Zhao Mingfu, commander of the 5th Army, said excitedly. The Imperial Army broke through the direction of the Qing army and relied on the army of an infantry brigade to defeat an infantry division of the Qing army, which made him very excited. This shows that the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Army is far above that of the Qing Army!

"Hmmm! Let the 23rd Brigade cross the river immediately! However, the 9th Army of the Qing Army still has 3 infantry divisions, and its strength still exists, so let the 5th Brigade not rush forward and fight steadily! Major General Liu Zhongming said. After all, the Qing army had been entrenched in Hankou and Hanyang for a long time, and they had been operating it for several years. Moreover, the 9th Army of the Qing Army had more than 50,000 people, and although the 5th Brigade defeated one infantry division of the Qing Army, the remaining three infantry divisions still had strong combat effectiveness. If you rush in, you may suffer a fiasco.

"Yes, General Liu!" Major General Zhao Mingfu, commander of the 5th Army, nodded. Although he didn't think much of the Qing army, he also knew that it was necessary to be cautious on the battlefield. Besides, it is simply unrealistic to defeat the Qing army with one infantry brigade of the 5th Brigade and capture the entire Hankou and Hanyang. The most important thing now is to send the main force of the 5th Army to the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Dozens of transport ships set sail from the wharf in Wuchang, carrying the artillery battalion of the Army's 5th Brigade and troops directly under the brigade headquarters. In addition, all the officers and men and equipment of the 23rd Infantry Brigade under the 5th Army will also be included. After the 5th Brigade had already established a solid position in Hankow, their crossing of the river was much less risky. The other 3 infantry brigades of the 5th Army followed. They will also wait for the opportunity to cross the river and fight a decisive battle with the 9th Army of the Qing Army in Hankow.

Rong Yucai, the commander of the 9th Army of the Qing Army, had been paying attention to the progress of the front line at the military headquarters, and he didn't even have time to eat a bite of breakfast. Now the situation is critical. If the 9th Army was not careful, it would suffer a crushing defeat, and if Hankou and Hanyang were lost, then how could he explain to the imperial court? Maybe the old accounts that have been suppressed over the years will also be turned over. When the time comes, his life will be in danger. After all, in officialdom, there are always a lot of people who fall into the ground!

"Commander, the 35th Division has been defeated. General Bao led the remnants of his army back into the city. Rong Yucai's adjutant Zhang Yuchen said to him.

"What? How did Bao Qibao do it? Defeated by those rebels so quickly? Rong Yucai said angrily. Although he gave orders to the 33rd and 34th Divisions to return to Hankow. However, the movement of large forces takes time. Originally, it was expected that the 35th Division would hold out for a day or two. But I didn't expect that the 35th Division would be defeated so quickly. This made the situation in Hankow even more passive.

British adviser Colonel Charles also frowned, it seemed that the combat effectiveness of the Qing army was weak, and it was also a little unexpected to him.

"Your Excellency, General. Now there is no way. Let the 35th Division and the remnants of the army and the troops directly under the army hold the city of Hankou. Let the 33rd and 34th Divisions speed up and withdraw at an accelerated pace. Otherwise, we won't be able to stand Hankow. Colonel Charles sighed, then said.

"Okay, okay. Yuchen, hurry up and give an order, let Bao Qibao come to see me. Other than that. Let the 33rd Division, before two o'clock this afternoon. Be sure to return to Hankow. The 34th Division, which also has to be retreated by tomorrow, will hold on to Hankow. Also, send a telegram to the 12th Army, telling them to immediately approach Hankow to reinforce us. Don't forget to send a telegram to the Imperial Court to tell us that we are fighting to the death against the rebels and are in dire need of support. Rong Yucai issued a series of orders. Hankow was his old nest, and the property he had looted was also stored here, and if Hankow was captured by the Chinese Empire, he would have suffered a heavy loss. In Rong Yucai's view, although the current war situation is very unfavorable, the Qing army has an army of more than one million, and if it can be reinforced by more than 100,000 troops, it may be able to defeat the army of the Chinese Empire.

"Yes, Commander!" Adjutant Zhang Yuchen hurriedly ran to give the order. The current 9th Army of the Qing Army seems to have reached the time of life and death.

In less than twenty minutes, the 35th Division of the Qing Army rushed to the military headquarters with Major General Bao Qibao, his face was ugly, he knew that the defense line was lost, and this time he would definitely be scolded by the army commander Rong Yucai. Moreover, this is still light, maybe Rong Yucai will use this to deal with him. In the 9th Army, he and Rong Yucai did not deal with each other. If he hadn't had a relationship with the DPRK, he might have been driven out of the 9th Army long ago.

"Commander, come and report!" After seeing Rong Yucai, Bao Qibao hurriedly saluted.

"Humph! General Bao, how did you do it? It's only been a long time before your troops have been crushed by the rebels, and even the defenses you have painstakingly built have been lost. Are your people all a bunch of pigs? Rong Yucai jumped to his feet and scolded.

Major General Bao Qibao's face was flushed, and Rong Yucai's scolding made him very angry in his heart, but Rong Yu was his top boss, even if he was dissatisfied, he had no choice but to listen with his head down. However, he still explained: "Commander, the attack of the rebels is too sudden, and we are not prepared at all. In addition, the rebels concentrated a large number of large-caliber artillery, which was also supported by naval warships. The artillery battalion of the 35th Division was destroyed at the very beginning of the battle. In the ensuing battle, we have been fighting with the fierce artillery fire of the rebels, and the brothers have suffered heavy losses and have done their best. The 2nd regiment was crippled, with more than 3,000 men in the regiment, and in the end only half of them remained. The 1st regiment also lost seven or eight hundred people. ”

In the morning battle, the 35th Infantry Division of the Qing Army lost more than 2,000 men. Of course, there are more than 10,000 people left in this division. But what was even more severe was that the morale of the troops was extremely low, and many soldiers were frightened by the strong firepower of the Chinese Empire, and did not dare to continue fighting. This forced Major General Bao Qibao to give the order to withdraw his troops, otherwise, the 35th Infantry Division would have suffered even more losses.

"Sophistry, these are quibbles. I'm going to report to the court and punish you!" Rong Yucai said angrily.

"Your Excellency General, now is not the time to quarrel, the army of the Chinese Empire is about to launch an attack on Hankou, if you continue to make internal strife, I don't think Hankou needs to be defended, and it will be handed over to the Chinese Empire directly!" Colonel Charles said with a frown. Seeing that a catastrophe is coming, these generals of the Qing army are still thinking about fighting for power and profit, and he knows why the Qing army is not the opponent of the Chinese Empire!

"Humph! Well, for the sake of Charles's advisers, I'll spare you once this time. General Bao, go back and lead your troops and hold Hankow! The 33rd and 34th Divisions are about to return to Hankow, and we need to defend Hankow! Rong Yucai said coldly.

"Yes, Commander!" Major General Bao Qibao suppressed the anger in his heart and replied. He also knew that he couldn't lose Hankow, otherwise, he wouldn't end well. It can be said that on this issue, his and Rong Yucai's interests are identical.

"Boom! Rumble! "Shells continued to fall into the city of Hankou, and the 5th Brigade of the Imperial Chinese Army that successfully drove the Qing army back into the city of Hankou was attacking the city of Hankou with infantry artillery. Although the power of the infantry artillery could not catch up with the howitzer, it could only be used when the brigade artillery battalion arrived overseas. In the case of the lack of artillery of the Qing army, the 5th Brigade was able to suppress the Qing army even if it only had 20 infantry guns.

By noon, the artillery battalion of the 5th Brigade had been transported to the north bank of the Yangtze River, which greatly strengthened the 5th Brigade's attack on Hankow. At three o'clock in the afternoon, the 5th Brigade of the Imperial Army, with the support of artillery, launched a tentative attack on Hankow. Many large cities of the Qing army were protected by city walls, and with the power of small-caliber artillery, it was difficult to destroy the city walls. However, it was able to suppress the enemies on the city.

In this wave of attacks, the 5th Brigade of the Imperial Army used two infantry battalions of more than 1,000 people. However, under the counterattack of the Qing army, the attack failed, and hundreds of people were lost, and they had to retreat. With the 23rd Infantry Brigade also landing, the Imperial Army has already assembled two brigades on the north bank of the Yangtze River. Although this amount of troops may not be able to defeat the 9th Army of the Qing Army and take Hankou, it is still no problem to build a solid position. With this position, the main force of the Imperial Army could be transported to the north bank of the Yangtze River in a steady stream.

By the time the sun went down, the 5th Army of the Imperial Army had crossed the river with as many as 3 brigades. It was already getting dark, and the Imperial Army stopped its attack and began to recuperate. Prepare for tomorrow's big battle. Major General Liu Zhongming, who was in charge of commanding the operation, also sent a telegram to Guangzhou to report the victory. After a day of fierce fighting, the Imperial Army broke through the Qing army's defensive line north of the Yangtze River. The capture of the towns of Hankou and Hanyang and the elimination of the main force of the 9th Army of the Qing Army are just around the corner.

Not only the attack in the direction of Wuchang was smooth, but in the direction of Jiujiang, the 9th Army and the 4th Army of the Imperial Army also successfully broke through the Qing army's defense line north of the Yangtze River, routed the defenders of an infantry division of the Qing army, and began to march towards Anqing, preparing for a decisive battle with the Qing army's 10th army.

In the direction of Jiangning in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the 11th Army and the 5th Army of the Imperial Army also broke through the defense line of the 11th Army of the Qing Army, successfully crossed the river from Jiangning, and attacked the north bank of the Yangtze River. At present, these two armies are preparing to march to Yangzhou. After Jiangsu, south of the Yangtze River, was occupied by the Chinese Empire, the Manchu governor of Jiangsu, Yamen, was placed in Yangzhou. As one of the most important sources of finance and taxation for the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Jiangsu was also the top priority of the Manchu Qing Dynasty's defense. Here, they deployed the strength of two armies. Including the 11th and 13th armies. (To be continued......)