PS: The second update is here, ask for subscriptions, ask for monthly passes and likes! Thank you for the monthly pass and evaluation vote of book friend Eldin!

Beginning on February 28, 1843, the Xinhua army began to counterattack the Qing army from the periphery of Guangdong, and all achieved good results. The Qing army was defeated, and all fronts began to advance steadily. The 300,000-strong Qing army besieged Guangdong, putting great pressure on the people throughout Guangdong. Although they all believed that with the combat strength of the Xinhua army, it would not be difficult to resist the attack of the Qing army. However, before the Qing army was completely defeated, everyone would be a little worried.

Now, all the armies of the Xinhua Army have won victories one after another, so that the ordinary people, who have been worried, are finally relieved. This was especially true for the peasants who had been allocated land from the government of Xinhua. They were also worried that after the Xinhua army was defeated by the Qing army, the land allocated to them would be recovered. For this reason, they actively participated in the Xinhua Army, just to keep their land. Now that the Xinhua Army has defeated the Qing Army, the heart they have been hanging on can finally be put back in their stomachs.

The victory of the Xinhua Army was expected by King Long Yufei and the military high-brass. Although the Qing army had an advantage in strength, after more than a month of fierce fighting, the Qing army could not break the defense line of the Xinhua army, which made the Qing army lose its sharpness. After the strength of the Xinhua army was replenished, it would be very easy to defeat them.

On March 5, 1843, Long Yufei, who was sitting in Guangzhou, had already received an urgent battle report from the front. Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Niu Meng. He personally reported these good news to Long Yufei, Foreign Minister Lin Zihao, Guangdong Provincial Governor Liang Baochang and Vice Governor Fang Minghong and other senior officials. They all participated in this meeting. Everyone's faces were also full of smiles. The fact that the Xinhua Army was able to achieve a heavy victory was also a great joy for them.

"Your Majesty, up to the current position, our army has defeated the main force of the Qing army in the battlefield of northern Guangdong, destroying more than 30,000 enemies. Now the Qing army is retreating towards the hinterland of Hunan. In the battlefield of northeastern Guangdong, our army eliminated the main force of the Qing army in the direction of Fujian in two battles of Zhangzhou and Xiamen. At present, our army is attacking Fuzhou. Now the Qing army in Fujian is only left with the Eight Banners in Fuzhou, and taking Fujian is just around the corner. On the battlefield in western Guangdong, through the efforts of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Wang Daocheng, the governor of Guizhou, and Zhang Guoxiang, the governor of Yunnan, have already surrendered to us. Their troops will be reorganized into two infantry brigades. In the first battle of Hezhou, the Guangxi Green Battalion has been wiped out, and Ma Dianjia, the governor of Guangxi, died in the melee. At present, the Western Route Army is attacking the rest of Guangxi and is preparing to attack the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan. Lieutenant General Niu Meng, Chief of the General Staff, said with a happy face.

"Congratulations, congratulations!" Lin Zihao and others congratulated. No doubt. After the defeat of the Qing army by the Xinhua army, more provinces will be brought under the rule of the Xinhua state. Xinhua will completely gain a foothold in Chinese mainland. After gaining a large number of people, the future of Xinhua is bound to be unlimited. The stronger Xinhua is become, and the more their fate has long been tied to Xinhua Guo, they can also obtain huge benefits. Therefore, everyone sincerely hopes that the Xinhua Army will achieve a complete victory.

"Rejoice, rejoice! The army can win the battle, in addition to the soldiers fighting bravely to kill the enemy, but also inseparable from everyone's support. After winning this battle, the future of Xinhua will be brighter. Long Yufei also said with a smile. By winning this battle, Xinhua would be able to pocket all the provinces south of the Yangtze River. At that time, Xinhua will have almost half of China, and its population will exceed 100 million. With such a large population resource, Nanyang, which is already occupied by Xinhua, will be developed. At that time, the strength of Xinhuaguo will once again grow explosively.

Long Yufei was very happy that the Military Intelligence Bureau was able to plot against the two feudal officials of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. He was also very much in favor of making the two admirals the commanders of the newly formed infantry brigades. China is too big and too populous, and if it can get the support of these people, Xinhua will be able to replace the Manchus more quickly. After all, the world is developing rapidly, and the sooner we can end the war, the faster we can devote ourselves to the development of production, construction, and development. The gap between China and the West is too great to catch up.

"Is there any news from the Second Route Army led by General Liu Zhongming?" Long Yufei asked. What he really cares about is the army. According to the operational plan put forward by Brigadier General Liu Zhongming, the Xinhua Army concentrated 12 infantry brigades, 1 heavy artillery brigade, 1 marine brigade and a fleet, totaling nearly 90,000 people. The task of this force was also arduous: to attack all the way west along the Yangtze River and cut off the Qing Dynasty's control of the area south of the Yangtze River. You must know that the area along the Yangtze River can definitely be regarded as the hinterland of the Qing Dynasty. Although the military strength of the Qing army in this area is very empty because of the southern expedition of the army, there are still many Qing troops north of the Yangtze River. If there is a slight accident, the Second Route Army may fall into the siege of the Qing army.

"Your Majesty, the latest news was sent five days ago. Brigadier General Liu Zhongming has already arrived in Taipei, and now all units are arriving in Taipei one after another. According to the battle plan drawn up earlier, Brigadier General Liu Zhongming led the army to set off two days ago. At present, it should still be on the way to the mouth of the Yangtze River. General Liu led an army of 90,000 and there would be no problem. Lieutenant General Niu Meng said. With the strong combat power of the Xinhua Army, an army of 90,000, the Qing army is absolutely undefeatable, even if it attacks the Beijing Division, it is estimated that there will be no problem. However, after the capture of the Beijing Division, the Manchus still had a vast strategic space to turn around, and they were far from achieving the goal of completely overthrowing the Manchus. And this will also make the Xinhua army not enough to capture more territory. Therefore, the Xinhua Army placed the operational goal of this stage south of the Yangtze River. As long as Xinhua can swallow the south of the Yangtze River in one bite, after two or three years of digestion, Xinhua will be able to destroy the Manchu Qing Dynasty lightly.

"Your Majesty rest assured, the minister believes that General Liu will definitely win a big victory. At that time, the entire south of the Yangtze River will be ours. Foreign Minister Lin Zihao said.

Guangdong Provincial Governor Liang Baochang and Vice Governor Fang Minghong also spoke one after another, both firmly believing that the Xinhua Army could win.

"Well, I also have confidence in General Liu and the Xinhua Army. Victory is definitely ours. Long Yufei said firmly. It has been almost 8 years since he came to this era. In just eight years, he led a group of pirates step by step to this point. The overthrow of the Manchu Qing is about to succeed, and the next step is to lead the hard-working and kind Chinese nation back to the top of the world.

In the vast East China Sea, a huge fleet is sailing on the sea. 24 'Shark-class' cruisers, protecting more than 200 transport ships and merchant ships in the middle. These two fleets are the 1st Fleet and the 4th Fleet of the Xinhua Navy. However, after escorting the fleet into the mouth of the Yangtze River, the task of supporting the fleet's operations will be entrusted to the 1st Fleet. The 4th Fleet will be responsible for securing logistical supply lines in the East China Sea. Tens of thousands of people are far away from Xinhua to fight, and the daily consumption of materials will be very alarming, and if there is a problem with the logistics supply line, there will be a serious threat to the troops.

On a transport ship, Brigadier General Liu Zhongming, deputy director of the Operations Department of the General Staff Headquarters, who was in charge of commanding the operation, was discussing countermeasures with the generals of the army and navy. Now, they are almost at Hangzhou Bay, and they will be able to reach the mouth of the Yangtze River tomorrow morning.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow morning, we will enter the mouth of the Yangtze River. According to the proposed battle plan, we will attack Wusongkou and then land in Shanghai. After taking Shanghai, he adopted the method of advancing by land and water, and attacked westward until it reached Wuchang. Brigadier General Liu Zhongming said.

The generals below have already known this battle plan. Everyone was very excited, and although the combat mission this time was a little difficult, if it was successful, it would be a great achievement. Especially the commanders of the ten newly formed infantry brigades, they are all only with the rank of colonel, if this battle can be successful, when the war is over, they will have to be brigadier generals!

"General Liu, I have a mention, and in two hours, we will arrive at Hangzhou Bay. Why don't we land in Hangzhou Bay as well? According to the information we have received, the main force of the Qing army's Zhejiang Green Battalion has already gone to Fujian to fight. Now Zhejiang's troops are empty, and there are only more than 10,000 Eight Banner soldiers commanded by General Hangzhou. Everyone knows very well how much combat power those Eight Banners soldiers can have. Hangzhou is an important economic and cultural city, and Zhejiang is also an economically developed province. Rear Admiral Wei Yong, commander of the 1st Fleet of the Navy, said.

Brigadier General Liu Zhongming nodded, and after a little hesitation, he adopted this proposal. Zhejiang is undoubtedly one of the most economically developed cities along the coast of China, and was an important source of tax revenue for the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Now that Zhejiang's troops are empty, it is the right time to take Zhejiang. Besides, the Xinhua Army invested at most one brigade of troops, which was enough to take the whole of Zhejiang.

"Okay, get the 2nd Marine Brigade ready for landing operations. After that, the 6th Brigade landed and was responsible for operations in Zhejiang. The rest of the troops continued northward to carry out the original plan. Brigadier General Liu Zhongming said. One less infantry brigade is not too much of a problem for the Xinhua Army.

At 3 p.m. on March 6, the huge fleet arrived at Hangzhou Bay. After that, the 1st Fleet changed course and headed for Hangzhou Bay, preparing to clear the way for the landing of the 2nd Marine Brigade. (To be continued......)