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In the era of cold weapons, cavalry was indeed the master of the battlefield, relying on strong impact and mobility, few troops could compete with cavalry. The Mongols, relying on strong cavalry, conquered almost the entire Eurasian continent. However, after entering the era of hot weapons, the role of cavalry has been greatly reduced. This is especially true in the face of the Imperial Chinese Army, which is armed to the teeth. Even squad machine guns are still used to equip troops, but heavy machine guns have been equipped to platoon units. Coupled with mortars that are also equipped to the platoon level, as well as advanced breech rifles, the firepower of the squad platoon of the Imperial Chinese Army has far surpassed that of European powers. Under such firepower, the threat that cavalry can pose to the Imperial Army is not as terrible as imagined. This is also the reason why, knowing that the Qing army had 200,000 cavalry, and the Russians had more than 50,000 Cossack cavalry that might join the Chinese civil war, the emperor Long Yufei and the military high-ranking still dared to launch a unified war at this time.

"Your Majesty, the front line is urgent, and Chang Rong Yu, the 9th Army of the Qing Army, has surrendered. The Imperial Army has recovered the three towns of Wuhan! Major General Li Hu, the chief of the guard, walked into the office quickly and said to Long Yufei.

"Huh? Has Wuhan been recovered? So fast? Long Yufei said with some surprise. The war only began yesterday, and today the three towns of Wuhan have been recovered, and the Qing army has also been forced to surrender. That's too fast, isn't it?

After receiving the telegram, Long Yufei read it carefully. There was not much content in the telegram. That is, the Imperial Army completely annihilated the 9th Army of the Qing Army, killing and capturing about how many people. In addition, there are also the conditions that Major General Liu Zhongming promised Rong Yucai and so on.

"Haha. That's great! We have successfully conquered Wuhan and killed a single army of the Qing army. There is only one such army in the Qing army, and now we have killed one. I think we'll be able to wipe them all out soon. Long Yufei said with a laugh.

Admiral Niu Meng and Major General Sun Hao also circulated the telegram. They were also very pleased that Major General Liu Zhongming was able to kill the Qing army so quickly. This means that the Qing army's Yangtze River defense line has completely collapsed. The path for the Imperial Army to march into northern China had been completely opened.

"Your Majesty, Major General Liu Zhongming agreed to the surrender conditions of the 9th Army of the Qing Army. What do you think? Are we going to pay that 1.4 million Hua Yuan to that guy Rong Yucai. According to the information we've got, that guy isn't a good bird! Admiral Niu Meng asked. 1.4 million Chinese dollars, that's a huge amount of money. It's a bit of a shame to just send it out. If it is used in the army. The construction of an infantry brigade is almost guaranteed. Other than that. If it is used in the navy, it can almost build half of the 'Eastern Zhou-class' warships.

"Chief of Staff, 1.4 million Chinese dollars is a lot. But we need to keep our word. If we go back on our word, what will the other Qing generals think of us? It's not bad to recruit Rong Yucai and play the role of a thousand gold to buy bones! Long Yufei said. Although 1.4 million Chinese dollars is a huge amount of money, if it can be used to set an example for those Han generals in the Qing army, the effect is far from being comparable to 1.4 million Chinese yuan. This will make those Han generals have such an idea in their hearts. If you reach a desperate situation, then there is no need to continue to resist. It was possible to surrender to the Chinese Empire. If nothing else, at least one life can be saved.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Admiral Niu Meng nodded. He was a pirate by training, and he inevitably took money a little seriously. However, as the chief of the general staff of the Empire, he also knows those big truths. Now that Long Yufei has made a decision, he will not object.

Qing Tinghe soon learned the news of the surrender of Changrong Yucai of the 9th Army, which made Aixin Jueluo . Mianyu was greatly dissatisfied, and scolded Rong Yucai for being despicable and shameless and ungrateful at the imperial meeting! In their opinion, in that case, only Rong Yucai and all the 50,000 people of the 9th Army of the Qing Army fought to the death, and none of them remained, that was the loyal minister of the Manchu Dynasty. Rong Yucai's surrender to the Chinese Empire was a great rebellion. Fortunately, Rong Yucai doesn't have any family in Beijing, otherwise, those people will definitely not end well. Even so, Rong Yucai was in the background of the Qing court, and Yucheng, the secretary of the military department, was also regent Aixin Jueluo. Mianyu scolded her. If it weren't for the support of Chief Military Minister Wen Qing, maybe there would have been more losses.

In addition, the loss of a 9th Army made the Qing court once again issue strict orders to the departments of the front, requiring them to speed up the pace of retreat and retreat to the predetermined decisive battle site. lest the losses be too great and make it impossible to defeat the Chinese Empire in a decisive battle. For this decisive battle, the Manchus had great hopes, and this was also the last hope of the Manchus. If the defeat worsened, the Manchus would be completely finished. Therefore, for the Manchu Qing Dynasty, this decisive battle must only succeed, not fail!

On September 28, Emperor Long Yufei once again received good news that the 14th and 17th armies of the Imperial Army had successfully broken through the defense line of the Yalu River of the Qing army, attacked Mukden from Korea, eliminated the 7th Army of the Qing army, and were marching towards Shengjing.

After the capture of Korea by the Imperial Army, the 17th Army was ordered to garrison Korea and confront the Qing army across the Yalu River. Before the start of the war, the 14th Army, which was far away in Burma, was also transported to Korea. After the war began, the task of these two armies was to cross the Yalu River, capture Mukden, threaten the Shanhaiguan line from the north, and cut off the way for the Qing army to flee to the northeast. The Qing army deployed 100,000 people in Mukden. However, in the face of the two infantry corps of the Imperial Army, the 100,000 Qing troops still seemed vulnerable.

North Korea and the northeast of the Manchu Qing Dynasty were separated by only one Yalu River. General Shengjing, who was established by the Qing army in Shengjing, was given full responsibility for the defense of Mukden Province. It was under the jurisdiction of the 7th Army and the 19th Army of the Qing Army. Among them, the 7th Army deployed to the west of the Yalu River and confronted the 17th Army of the Imperial Army. The 19th Army remained in Shengjing as a reserve force. The Shengjing general who served in this way was Xi'en, a son of the Manchu clan and the son of Prince Rui Chunying, who had served as the secretary of the Ministry of Works and the secretary of the household department, and only became the general of Shengjing in 1841. He is now over 60 years old.

Xi'en's biggest task was to defend the Yalu River, resist the Chinese Empire's army east of the Yalu River, and keep the Qing army's Longxing land. He led two armies, which was already not a small amount. At least before the Chinese Empire increased its troops in Korea, it was enough to deal with more than 35,000 people in one army of the Chinese Empire with two armies of 100,000 people, and there was a defense line on the Yalu River. However, after the Chinese Empire increased its troops, the superiority of the Qing army was not so obvious. Especially after the Qing army prepared for a decisive battle with the Chinese Empire in the Central Plains, the Northeast Theater was no longer so important. Therefore, even though Xien wrote to the imperial court several times, asking the imperial court to send reinforcements to the northeast, it was not approved. The Manchu court has put all its hopes on the Central Plains, preparing to defeat the Chinese Empire in one fell swoop in this decisive battle, so as to completely reverse the decline on the battlefield and lay the foundation for victory.

By September 26, 1846, the 14th and 17th armies of the Imperial Army were ready to cross the Yalu River. And, they were supported by the 1st Fleet of the Imperial Navy. Four 'Shang-class' cruisers of the Imperial Navy's 1st Fleet formed a small flotilla and arrived at the mouth of the Yalu River, ready to provide fire support for their crossing. Together with the artillery units of the 14th Army and the 17th Army, when facing the 7th Army of the Qing Army, they already had an overwhelming advantage in firepower.

At 7:45 a.m. on September 26, the 14th and 17th armies of the Imperial Army concentrated 200 cannons of 75 mm caliber or more and launched a fierce artillery bombardment of the Qing army across the Yalu River. The location of the shelling was the position of the Qing army in the Dandong area at the mouth of the Yalu River. The four 'Shang-class' cruisers of the 1st Fleet of the Imperial Navy also arrived at the mouth of the Yalu River, and at a distance of less than five kilometers from the Qing army's defensive line, they used the ship's naval guns to carry out a fierce artillery bombardment of the Qing army's position.

For the attack of the Chinese Empire, the Qing 7th Army, like most Qing troops, was not prepared at all. When the shells landed on their heads, the Qing soldiers were still asleep. Many people went to see Hades directly in their sleep.

The heavy shelling lasted for an hour before it ended, and the Qing 7th Army paid a heavy price in the shelling of the Chinese Empire. Not only were there heavy casualties, but also heavy losses in equipment. Even the defensive line they had built on the west bank of the Yalu River was bombarded in pieces, as if they had been plowed over by someone.

At 8:40 a.m., the artillery fire of the Imperial Army began to extend to the depth of the Qing army's defense, and the 17th Brigade under the 17th Army, with 200 landing craft and hundreds of fishing boats, began to cross the Yalu River and launched an attack on the positions of the Qing 7th Army. Under the heavy firepower, the resistance of the Qing army was very weak, and the 17th Army of the Imperial Army completed the landing at a small cost. And then launched an attack on Danton.

After a day of fierce fighting, the 17th Army of the Imperial Army entered the territory of Dandong. And the 14th Army also completed the landing, outflanking Dandong from the north. Under the attack of the two armies, the main force of the Qing 7th Army stationed in Dandong was wiped out after only holding out for more than two days. The remaining remnants of the army also hurriedly retreated towards Shengjing.

On September 29, 1846, the 17th and 14th armies of the Imperial Army began to march towards Shengjing, preparing to completely defeat the Qing army's army in Mukden. (To be continued......)