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On the evening of March 13, the high-ranking officials in the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion and Jiangning City all gathered here, headed by Niu Jian, the governor of Liangjiang, Dezhubu, the general of Jiangning, Sun Shanbao, the governor of Jiangsu, Qi Ying, the general of Hangzhou, and Liu Yunke, the governor of Zhejiang.

In addition, there were also the senior officers of the Jiangnan Navy Division's staff general, Fuzhu Long'a, and the Eight Banners of Jiangning and Hangzhou. It's just that everyone's faces are a little unpleasant. The navy of the new Chinese country was very arrogant this afternoon, and carried out a fierce bombardment of the Jiangning city wall and the surrounding forts, and waited until all these forts were destroyed before they left. Such an arrogant act made the generals of the Qing army very angry. However, there is nothing they can do to stop it. The artillery along the Yangtze River was destroyed, and they had no other way but helplessness.

"General, gentlemen. In the midst of this afternoon's fighting. The forts on the shogunate hill and the cannons erected on the wall north of Jiangning were destroyed by the Xinhua army, and we lost a total of 80 cannons and more than 300 casualties. A Qing army general said to everyone.

"How much damage have we done to the Xinhua Army?" Jiangning General Dezhubu asked. In a very short period of time, the batteries along the Yangtze River were uprooted by the Xinhua Army, which exposed the entire Jiangning to the guns of the Xinhua Army.

"General, we have damaged several warships of the Xinhua Army. It's just that our shells are solid. The damage inflicted on the Xinhua Army was very limited. It can only be regarded as a minor injury. The general replied honestly.

"Humph! The Xinhua Army is just relying on the power of firearms, which is why it is so arrogant. If my Qing army had been equipped with those firearms, we wouldn't have to be afraid of them at all. Jiangsu Governor Sun Shanbao said disdainfully. Merely. No one agreed with his words. Weapons and equipment are also a kind of military strength. In the Opium War, the Qing army had already learned the power of firearms.

"The Xinhua Army is already very close to Jiangning. Their navy has already appeared in the Yangtze River north of Jiangning, and the army is only a few dozen miles away from Jiangning. Next. We are about to be attacked by the Xinhua army. Is there a way to help Jiang Ning through this crisis? Everyone spoke freely, as long as Jiang Ning could be saved, the official would definitely ask His Majesty for a reward. Niu Jian, the governor of Liangjiang, looked at the generals below. He asked earnestly.

The generals of the Qing army, whether Manchu or Han Chinese, were silent. The battle in the afternoon had already made them understand the strength of the Xinhua Army. This worries them very much. If they fight against the Xinhua Army, will they be able to survive? As for keeping Jiang Ning, in their opinion, this is simply a pipe dream. Although there are still tens of thousands of regular troops in Jiangning City, there are already tens of thousands of Xiangyong who have just been recruited. However, whether it is those Eight Banner soldiers or Xiang Yong, their combat effectiveness is very rubbish. It is not easy to rely on such troops to resist the attack of the Xinhua Army.

Everyone has an attitude that it is not their business. Keep your head down and don't say a word. It's not that they don't want to show their faces. There's really no way! The Xinhua army was too strong, and the Qing army was not an opponent of the same rank at all compared to them.

Looking at the generals who were speechless, the face of Niu Jian, the governor of Liangjiang, gradually became gloomy. He also knew that Jiang Ning's shape was very dangerous now. The generals must have been desperate about the situation in front of them. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this time the Qing Dynasty will not do well and will plant a big heel. As for how big the losses will be, it all depends on how big the appetite of the Xinhua army will be.

"Your Excellency the Governor, I believe that we can only defend the city now. The navy of the new Chinese country has already taken control of the Yangtze River, and our road to the north has been blocked. And the provinces around Jiangning are also extremely empty, and there is no way to reinforce us at all. Even if we abandon Jiangning, we have nowhere to escape. On the contrary, he stayed in Jiangning, and with the help of Jiangning's tall city walls, maybe there would be a glimmer of life. After all, there are still 100,000 troops in the city, and many ordinary people are also on our side. Therefore, as long as everyone works together, they may really be able to hold Jiangning. Jiangnan Sailor participated in Fuzhu Longa said.

In fact, Fuzhu Longa's words did not have any constructive suggestions at all, but only advised everyone to treat dead horses as live horse doctors. Since there is no escape, there is only Jiangning to defend it. Although such a choice is almost a life-or-death, there is always a glimmer of life.

"General Fu's words are very reasonable. Now Jiangning has reached the most dangerous moment, and we can only resist the attack of the Xinhua army if we continue to defend it and unite as one. From now on, General Ben ordered that everyone must fight to the death, whether it is a soldier or an officer, or you senior generals, if you are greedy for life and afraid of death on the battlefield, General Ben will definitely not spare it. Jiangning General Dezhubu said.

"Yes, General!" All the generals replied with a hard head. They know that whether they can save their lives in the next battle depends on whether God will bless them.

On the evening of March 14, the Xinhua army arrived outside the city of Jiangning and set up camp five kilometers from Zhongshan. The Qing army deployed more than 20 cannons on Zhongshan and more than 2,000 people were stationed here. If the Xinhua army directly killed under the city of Jiangning, it would undoubtedly hit the guns of the Qing army. Therefore, Brigadier General Liu Zhongming, commander of the Xinhua Army, planned to capture Zhongshan tomorrow morning and then kill under the city of Jiangning. Moreover, after capturing Zhongshan, the Xinhua army can transport the artillery to Zhongshan and launch an artillery bombardment from a high position, and the entire Jiangning City will be within the range of the Xinhua army's artillery. The 75-mm field gun can be disassembled, and the cannon can be transported to Zhongshan.

On the morning of March 15, after a night's rest, the officers and men of the Xinhua Army got up in good spirits. After having breakfast early, the Xinhua army's attack on Zhongshan was about to begin.

Five brigade artillery battalions of the Xinhua Army, with a total of 120 75-mm field guns, all entered the artillery positions. The muzzles of the guns were all pointed at the Qing army fort located halfway up the Zhongshan Mountain. Zhongshan is just a small hill outside Jiangning City, with an altitude of only 250 meters. The Qing army's fort was located halfway up Zhongshan Mountain.

"Fire!" With the order of the commander of the artillery battalion of the 4th brigade, 120 75-mm field guns opened fire one after another. The fierce shelling of hundreds of cannons, the overwhelming atmosphere of destruction, made everyone feel very shocked. The Qing army, which was the enemy of the Xinhua army, felt chilled.

The Qing army on Zhongshan was already worried when the Xinhua army arrived. They wanted to flee back to Jiangning, but Jiangning's general Dezhubu strictly ordered them to defend Zhongshan to the death, otherwise they would be punished as deserters. This made the two thousand Qing troops have no choice but to stay on the mountain.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The overwhelming shells flew to Zhongshan and exploded near the fort halfway up the mountain. In the face of the fierce shelling of 120 artillery pieces of the Xinhua Army, the Qing army had completely lost the confidence to resist. They had more than 20 cannons, and not a single shot was fired. Those artillery doors had already escaped from the fort and were all over the mountains to avoid the fierce shelling of the Xinhua Army.

One after another, the shells exploded on the Qing army's forts, destroying the iron cannons of that gate, and even the barrels of the guns were blown into twists in the explosion.

The artillery fire of the Xinhua army was very fierce, and the Qing army guarding Zhongshan suffered heavy losses in the fierce artillery bombardment of the Xinhua army. As a last resort, just over 10 minutes after the shelling of the Xinhua Army began, a white flag was raised at Zhongshan. The Qing army general guarding Zhongshan ordered the surrender to the Xinhua army. They were all soldiers of the Jiangnan Green Battalion, not the Eight Banners, so they were sent to death outside the city. Under such circumstances, of course, they were not willing to die for the sake of the Manchus. What's more, the shelling of the Xinhua Army is so fierce, if it resists stubbornly, it will only be a dead end.

The Qing army surrendered so quickly, which surprised the Xinhua army. However, this saved the Xinhua Army a lot of things. Originally, the two infantry battalions of the Xinhua Army were ready to launch an attack after the artillery bombardment, and even if the Qing Army did not fight again, the Xinhua Army would definitely pay a certain amount of casualties when attacking. Now that the Qing army has surrendered on its own initiative, it is so that the Xinhua army does not have to pay unnecessary losses. In addition, every time the Xinhua Army attacked, it had to prepare a lot of artillery fire, which would consume a lot of shells. At present, the artillery shells used by the Xinhua Army need to be transported from Manila thousands of miles, and it is also very good to be able to save a little shells.

The Qing army guarding Zhongshan surrendered to the Xinhua army, which made the generals of the Qing army furious, especially the Jiangning general Dezhubu, who was even more clamoring to see the heads of the Qing troops who surrendered. It's just that now those Qing troops have surrendered like the Xinhua Army, and they will be locked up in the prisoner of war camps of the Xinhua Army. It is impossible to cut off their heads again. However, after Jiangning was broken by the Xinhua Army, Dezhubu and other high-ranking officials of the Qing Army would definitely be imprisoned in the prisoner of war camp of the Xinhua Army. Of course, they can also choose to die in battle. However, will these high-ranking officials, who are accustomed to enjoying a good life, be willing to end their lives?

Soon, the Xinhua army took control of Zhongshan. After that, the Xinhua army transported the artillery to Zhongshan on the one hand, and continued to advance towards Jiangning on the other. By noon, tens of thousands of Xinhua troops had already arrived at Jiangning City. The imposing Xinhua Army gave the defenders of Jiangning, especially those high-ranking officials of the Manchu Dynasty, a great shock. They seem to have realized the tragic end. (To be continued......)