A fleet sailed along the wide waterway of the Yangtze River, with two gunboats in front of the fleet and two sail cruisers in the tail. A large number of cargo ships followed, and behind the palace was an ironclad battleship. There are also more than 10 gunboats converted from steam cargo ships, cruising on the right side of the main channel, guarding the north bank of the Yangtze River. If people don't know the truth, they think that foreign warships have entered the waters of the Yangtze River.

This small fleet was the newly formed Yangtze River Fleet, which formed the Yangtze River Fleet with the captured French battleship Triumph, two battleships Sail, two gunboats, and 12 gunboats converted from steam cargo ships. The Triumph was named the Northern Expedition, and the two sail cruisers were named the Victory and the Shanghai. The two gunboats included 12 converted gunboats, designated 001 to 0014.

After capturing the French warship, Chen Jintang informed Fan Tao to lead 500 men to Shanghai to receive the warship. After Fan Tao led his troops to Shanghai, after three months of emergency repairs, the Yangtze River Fleet took shape. After receiving the order of the commander-in-chief, Chen Jintang immediately ordered the Yangtze River Fleet to advance to Nanjing by water, and at the same time ordered the 2nd Infantry Brigade, the 3rd Cavalry Battalion, and the 2nd Artillery Regiment to carry 10 artillery pieces and advance along the south bank of the Yangtze River towards Nanjing.

In late August, the dense rainfall thinned out, and the warm, scorching sun began to unleash endless energy. At this time, Chen Jintang, deputy commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army, stood on the deck of the flagship Northern Expedition, holding goggles in his hand and looking at the north bank of the river. As far as the eye can see, the Qing army on the north bank of the river seems to be facing a great enemy, and the Qing army is obviously building fortifications on the riverbank. Fan Tao, commander of the South China Sea Fleet of the Northern Expeditionary Army and commander of the Yangtze River Fleet, stood beside Chen Jintang.

"Deputy Commander-in-Chief, do you want to open fire!" Fan Tao asked. "Our task is to capture Nanjing, and the capture of the steel plant is the top priority. The Qing army does not harass us, we ignore them. Chen Jintang turned his head to look at the wriggling army on the south bank of the Yangtze River, and his heart couldn't help but surge, and he seemed to be a little impulsive. It's a pity that he can't compose poetry, otherwise I'd really like to chant for a long time.

The situation has changed dramatically in just a few months, and it is easy to say that all the generals and officers are excited, including the vast number of officers and soldiers and soldiers who have newly joined the Northern Expeditionary Army. Even the former Qing soldiers who returned to Shun were full of excitement and confidence. The clues can be seen from the enthusiastic faces of the soldiers. "Inform the pilot gunboat to speed up!" Fan Tao put down the binoculars and gave the order. Chen Jinyu also put down his glasses, and couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh, the day of the Jin Ge Iron Horse he was looking forward to had finally come.

I don't know how many times I have looked forward to this kind of day in my dreams, but today it finally became a reality, and it went very smoothly, which made Chen Jinyu a little worried. Not long ago, he easily defeated the Qing army's naval divisions that came to attack, and Chen Jinzhou knew that the Yangtze River fleet he formed would have no opponent on the Yangtze River, and the only threat was the Qing army's batteries along the river. According to the military information provided by Wan Chuan, only Zhenjiang, Jiangyin and Nanjing had Qing army batteries, and they were all old-fashioned batteries, which were more than enough to deal with small naval warships, but they were afraid that they would be greatly discounted against large warships, so they were not to be feared.

See the Qing army building fortifications along the coast, coupled with the military intelligence provided by Wan Chuan. Chen Jinxuan fully believed Deng Zixuan's judgment that the Qing army was temporarily unable to reinforce Jiangnan, but made every effort to build a defense line in Jiangbei. According to intelligence feedback, the first line of defense of Nanjing was the Huai Army's Wuqing Battalion and Shuzi Battalion, with a strength of about 6,000 troops, plus 5,000 men and horses of the original Qing Army's Green Battalion, with a total strength of 11,000 troops. Since the Qing army had to defend along the river, it was overstretched as soon as the troops were dispersed.

Although the Huai Army and the Hunan Army were transformed into the Great Fresh Army, the original system remained unchanged. Although the Qing court was expanding its army on a large scale, it would take time, and it would be difficult to build up combat effectiveness in the short term. The original Huai army had about 60,000 horses, the Hunan army was less than 20,000 people, plus the 200,000 horses of the Qing army's green battalion, on the long Yangtze River defense line, like a basin of water sprinkled into the sand, disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Now the main force of the Qing army is temporarily defending the defense line of Jiangsu and Anhui Jiangbei. And the French landed 5000 soldiers, and the British landed 2000 soldiers. In addition to the mercenary Japanese soldiers of 3,000 people, with a total strength of 10,000 people, they did not dare to pull to the Yangtze River defense line to directly participate in the defense, but organized the defense on the second line. After all, they are assisting the Qing army in defense, and it is impossible for them to play with their lives. At present, the Mongolian cavalry has been pulled to the hinterland of the Central Plains to form a defense, and the cavalry unit is not suitable for the Jiangnan water network operation, and is used as a rapid attack Liliang.

The 10,000 Russian cavalry of the Kösak cavalry who participated in the war are currently on the way. Therefore, the Qing court was worried about the Northern Expeditionary Army on the Shanghai side, which waved troops north in the direction of Jiangsu and Anhui. Not long ago, the Northern Expeditionary Army easily captured Hangzhou, which made the Qing court even more talkative. The 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 3rd Division of the Northern Expeditionary Army was 5,000 men and horses, the cavalry battalion including the artillery battalion was 1,500 people, and the total strength was close to 10,000 plus the officers and men of the fleet.

"Report to the deputy commander-in-chief, the forward troops of the 2nd Brigade have occupied Zhangjiagang, and a small number of Qing troops in Zhangjiagang have fled to Nanjing!" A subordinate reported. "Order the troops to accelerate their advance towards Zhenjiang." Chen Jinyu then asked, "What is the place ahead?" "Report to the deputy commander-in-chief, ahead is Jiangyin. I have already ordered the forward gunboats to go into combat readiness! "There was no danger, the defenders of Jiangyin, including the Qing officers and soldiers of the fort, were shocked to hear that Zhangjiagang was occupied, and immediately crossed the river and fled. The Jiangyin fort was very strong and could be fought in a battle, but Zhangjiagang was occupied, and Jiangyin was in no danger to defend. Needless to say, that's the beauty of the waterways.

The fleet approached the Jiangyin Fort and saw that the fort on the south bank was empty, and the north bank was in a commotion, obviously the Qing army had just fled. The fleet did not stop at all, but accelerated its passage. The Qing troops on the north shore watched the fleet roaring by, especially the huge ironclad warships of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and the fleeing Qing troops were glad to have escaped. In the past few months, the Qing army has built a large number of trenches and fortress fortifications on the front line of Zhenjiang, Dantu, Jurong and Jiangning.

For a long time, the Huai army and the Hunan army have been good at building fortifications, and they have accumulated rich practical experience in this regard. Step by step, steady and steady, is the inherent way of thinking from the general down to the soldiers, they used this method to deal with the Taiping army, and it is very practical. However, the Qing army was faced with a new type of army, and the combat methods, weapons and equipment of this new type of army were no longer the same as in the past.

The commander of Nanjing's city defense was Li Hongzhang's descendant Wu Qing, who was appointed as the governor of Jiangsu to defend Nanjing and command all the soldiers and horses in Nanjing. Wu Qing originally led his troops to be stationed in Pyongyang, North Korea, but the situation in the country suddenly changed, and Li Hongzhang ordered Wu Qing to lead the Qingzi battalion to return to China quickly. They had returned home from Pyongyang, North Korea, two months earlier. It can be said that the Qingzi Battalion is the most powerful unit in the original Huai Army sequence. The Qing Dynasty was faced with such a crisis, and North Korea was no longer important.

At this time, Ding Richang, the governor of Jiangsu, and Wu Qing, the governor of Jiangsu, were talking about the current situation. Ding Richang said: "General Wu, at present, Lord Li is making every effort to build the Jiangbei defense line, and the rebel army is strong at the moment, and I heard that the rebel army in Shanghai has grown to tens of thousands of horses. General Hangzhou led 40,000 horses to defend the city, but he did not expect that the fortified city of Hangzhou would be occupied by the rebels within a few days, which shows how powerful the rebels were? ”

Wu Qing said disdainfully: "General Hangzhou is in command of a group of rabble, and the green battalion of the Qing army is a fucking smoker, it is strange that they can also fight, and the city of Hangzhou has long been expected." "General Wu, the next target of the rebels will definitely be Nanjing, whether Nanjing is strong or not, Lord Admiral." Wu Qing said confidently: "The outer defense line from Zhenjiang to Jiangning is very strong and impregnable, and the rebels do not have a few months to succeed. Master Li said that in two months, our Jiangbei defense line will be stable, and a large number of reinforcements will come up at that time. ”

"5,000 French troops were wiped out by the rebels in Annam, and it is obvious that the rebels have surpassed the foreigners in combat effectiveness. It is said that the rifles in their hands are self-made and are repeating guns, so they must not be underestimated. "Ding Richang has some palpitations." I heard that you have a good personal relationship with the rebel leader Deng Zixuan, but you didn't see that this person had a backbone? Wu Qing sneered. This person is a wealthy businessman, and his appearance is that of a weak scholar, who knows that this person is hidden and deceived us all. It is true that people cannot be disguised, and the sea water cannot be measured. Besides, he is Sheng Huaixuan's cousin, so he doesn't even have room for suspicion. ”

"Sheng Huaixuan, this bastard, actually joined the rebels, and wasted Lord Li's weight, such a traitor who betrays his lord for glory should be connected to the Nine Clans, and you didn't arrest his family?" Wu Qing said fiercely. "I sent people to his hometown, who would have thought that people would go to the empty house, all relatives were transferred, it seems that the rebels have been prepared, and they are planning a rebellion not in a day or two. The character of Deng Zixuan is simply terrifying. Ding Richang said depressedly.

"Report!" At this moment, one of his subordinates panicked, shouting loudly as he ran. "Report to the Admiral, the Governor. The rebel front suddenly appeared in Zhangjiagang, and the rebels have now occupied Zhangjiagang. The defenders of Jiangyin Fort reported that a rebel fleet was swimming against the current, including an ironclad battleship. The defenders of Jiangyin were unable to resist in the face of land and water attacks, and had withdrawn to Jiangbei. Ding Richang panicked when he heard this: "The rebels actually have a fleet, they must have captured the French warships, how is this good." ”

"Fuck this situation weishenme didn't say it sooner!" Wu Qing was in a hurry. Ding Richang didn't care about Wu Qing's rudeness to him and said: "The rebels don't have a naval division in Shanghai, and the last time Huang Yisheng attacked Shanghai, he didn't find that the rebels had a naval division. Wu Qing said calmly: "There is no need to worry if the battleship can't go ashore, order the Zhenjiang Fort to defend with all its might, I don't believe that the rebels can fly over with wings, and order the defense line to enter combat preparation."

The battle began in an instant. The Zhenjiang Qing army artillery was the first to open fire, and the shells fell in the river water in front of it to stir up the water column, and on the surface, the Qing army artillery was very powerful, but the battery cannon had a short range, and the old-fashioned artillery could not pose any danger at all. He Meng commanded the battleships of the Northern Expedition, the Victory, and the Shanghai, and aimed them side by side at the forts. Then the front main guns were ordered to fire, and three large-caliber guns began to roar. Suddenly, the Qing army's fort position began to be shrouded in smoke.

There were quite a few Qing batteries, but they were all exposed on the fort positions. Originally, the fort was built for cold weapons, so the protection was almost zero. Chen Jinwei could see clearly in the telescope, a shell exploded on the fort, an old cannon was blown into the sky, and there were corpses of Qing soldiers in mid-air. After several rounds of bombardment, the return fire of the Qing batteries began to weaken. He Meng immediately ordered the left full rudder to use the side-rotating intensive artillery bombardment, and several rounds of bombardment on the battery were miserable and full of smoke.

The artillery of the Qing battery was dumbfounded, and Chen Jinyu ordered to stop the shelling and wait for the smoke to clear before taking action. An hour later, when the smoke from the fort cleared, Fan Tao ordered two gunboats to approach the test, and the Qing army was tenacious, and the sporadic artillery began to fire again. The target was cleared, and in less than an hour, the Qing army battery was silent again. The task of the fleet was completed, but it could not advance, and the next step was to wait for the infantry to capture Zhenjiang.

In the afternoon, Chen Jinyu ordered the 2nd Brigade to launch an attack on Zhenjiang. The Qing army was not all incompetent, and they encountered stubborn resistance