In the afternoon, Liu Yunlong, commander of the 2nd Brigade, received an order to launch an attack on the Qing fortress. The Zhenjiang city wall itself was tall, and the Qing army learned a lesson and believed that the tall city wall could not stop the footsteps of the Northern Expeditionary Army, so they dug a trench 5 meters wide and up to 2 meters deep outside the city wall, and put water in the trench. In addition, forts were built on the inside of the trenches and a well-layered line of defense was formed.

The Qing army deployed a small number of troops in the outer positions, and the main forces were distributed on the city walls, condescending to block the attack. The chief soldier who served for the defense of Zhenjiang was Nie Shicheng, the commander of the Shuzi battalion. After Wu Qing came to Nanjing, he promoted Nie Shicheng to be the chief soldier of Zhenjiang. The Huai Army's Shuzi Battalion and Qingzi Battalion were Li Hongzhang's descendants, and they hunted and loaded the most advanced Rayminton Lianzhu rifles, and Nie Shicheng also had 10 advanced Western infantry guns and 20 artillery pieces made by the Qing army. There are 1,500 Huai troops in the city, 2,000 Qing army green battalions, and a total strength of 3,500 people to defend Zhenjiang.

The fortifications on the periphery of Nanjing are very distinctive, the area from Zhenjiang to Dantu is suitable for attack, and the area from Dantu to Jurong is the area of water network and rice fields, and the large army cannot be deployed. Another point of attack was the Jurong and Jiangning areas, so the Qing army focused on the defense from Zhenjiang to Dantu and from Jurong to Jiangning. People are selfish, especially within the Qing army. Wu Qing let the Shuzi battalion defend the line from Zhenjiang to Dantu, Dantu to Jurong was guarded by the Qing army's green battalion, and Jurong to Jiangning was guarded by the Qingzi battalion under his command.

If the rebels launched an attack from the Jiangning front, the road would be far away and very difficult. In addition, Jiangning is the closest to Nanjing City, so you can defend the city nearby, or you can quickly retreat to the north bank of the river. This kind of small-scale peasant consciousness was very serious within the Qing army, and it was not surprising that they did not trust each other and that their operations were not coordinated for a long time. At this time, Nie Shicheng, who was standing on the city wall, was exceptionally promoted in the year of his establishment, and this kind of honor was hard to come by. The so-called soldier dies for his confidant, which is the criterion of military generals.

As a military general, Nie Shicheng is brave and fearless, and he regards death as if he were at home. If he is allowed to consider it holistically, he does not have at least the level of insight into the overall situation in his current state. In fact, the fort was disabled, and there were major hidden dangers in his defensive line, but it did not attract enough attention from him. Since the artillery is gone, simply let the artillery become infantry, in his subconscious, the rebel sailors will not go ashore to attack.

Seeing the Northern Expeditionary Army wearing strange military uniforms in the binoculars, Nie Shicheng was very shocked in his heart. As a soldier, he was even more shocked when he saw that the other party was well-trained, and the arrangement of troops in one move and one style was like flowing water. "No wonder the Northern Expeditionary Army is so strong, looking at the agile movements of their soldiers, you can see that this is a well-trained team, and the Taiping Army and the Twist Army were far behind." Nie Shicheng was insincere.

"Lord Commander, morale can be boosted but not vented, and you can't grow others' morale to dissipate the morale of the army!" The general was dissatisfied. This subordinate general had a higher military rank than Nie Shicheng before, and when he thought that this gentleman would become his top boss, he naturally had a pimple in his heart. "I'm telling the truth, the fierce shelling of the rebel warships in the morning has already shown us the strength of the enemy, and there must be a fierce battle below!" Nie Shicheng's expression was majestic, and there was a fierceness in his calmness.

At that time, the brigade commander Liu Yunlong gave the order to attack, and the artillery battalion artillery immediately began to fire. Accompanied by the violent explosion of artillery shells, smoke appeared in the positions of the Qing troops in front. After 10 minutes, artillery fire extended. The Qing artillery in the city began to return fire, but the range of a salvo was simply not enough. Nie Shicheng's beard shook and ordered the shelling to stop. "Lord Commander, it is said that the rebels' artillery is self-made, it has a longer range than the foreigners' artillery, and the explosion is violent, no wonder the rebels have nothing to fear," his subordinates were a little panicked. Nie Shicheng's face was pale, and he felt very uncomfortable.

At this moment, the shell suddenly fell on the city wall and exploded on the artillery position of the Qing army. Nie Shicheng was taken aback, the other party actually accurately calculated the position of his own artillery in such a short period of time, and it turned out that the foreplay was fire reconnaissance. The old artillery of the Qing army was cast iron and very heavy, and it was impossible to transfer it. Seeing that the enemy's artillery accurately fell on the gun position and the artillery was blown up, Nie Shicheng had no choice but to order to protect the Western artillery. Because foreign artillery with wheels was also relatively lightweight, only one foreign cannon was destroyed in one round of bombardment.

Brigade commander Liu Yunlong saw in the telescope that the artillery of the Qing army was blown up in a mess, so he ordered the shelling to stop. Then the infantry began to attack, the loud bugles sounded, and the soldiers rushed forward with ladders. When the attacking troops approached the trench, there was a sudden sound of cannons on the city wall, and the shells smashed into the attacking troops' sequence, and the people immediately turned on their backs. The brigade commander Liu Yunlong found that the situation was not good and immediately ordered a retreat. "! Blow up the artillery of the Qing army for me immediately! Liu Yun roared loudly.

However, the artillery bombardment was not effective, and the Qing army transferred the artillery positions in time, and a new round of attacks was repulsed. In this way, it went back and forth until dusk, and at the cost of 200 casualties, it did not advance to the front of the trench. Brigade Commander Liu Yunlong was a little depressed, and immediately reported the situation to Chen Jinyu. After Chen Jinyu learned about the situation, he also believed that even if he broke through by force, the price he would pay would be unbearable, and he immediately ordered the attack to be stopped.

Seeing that the deputy commander-in-chief was depressed, Fan Tao said: "It seems that this Huai army has a certain combat effectiveness, which is much stronger than the green battalion of the Qing army. It would be nice if the sailors could go ashore and launch an attack, but they couldn't do it in a hurry. A word woke up the person in the dream, and Chen Jinyu suddenly opened his mind and said: "Order Liu Yunlong, immediately send a regiment to board the ship, and make a detour upstream to attack." "At about a certain hour, the flagship Northern Expedition ironclad battleship took the lead, and seven gunboats covered the cargo ship Xiangshang with a regiment of soldiers on board.

The time of the attack was set for 3 o'clock in the morning, when the troops ashore suddenly launched an attack from behind, making it difficult for the Qing army to finish and break through the defense line in one fell swoop. An hour later, the flotilla arrived at a predetermined position upstream. It was very surprising that there were no Qing soldiers on the shore to defend it, which shows that the defense of the Qing army was more conformist. As soon as the sky was bright, there was a sudden gunfire on the west side of Zhenjiang, and the gunfire pierced the morning light and looked very terrifying.

Repelled the attack of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and the morale of the Qing army defending the city was greatly boosted. Nie Shicheng felt that artillery was the magic weapon to hold the city, so he reorganized manpower to strengthen the artillery Liliang. In order to prevent the artillery from being blown up, he strictly stipulated that after two rounds of fire it was necessary to shift positions. It wasn't until midnight that Nie Shicheng fell asleep, his nervous mood relaxed, and he slept very sweetly. Suddenly, there was a gunshot, and Nie Shicheng got up.

Originally, he slept with his clothes together, so Nie Shicheng quickly walked out of the house. The sound of gunfire came from the west, and I couldn't help but be taken aback and said: "What's the matter, the west weishenme shoots!" The subordinates didn't know how to answer. This kung fu came quickly, and without waiting for the war horse to be stable, the general rolled the saddle and dismounted: "The general soldier is not good, a large number of rebels have been found on the west side," Nie Shicheng was in a hurry, and immediately raised troops to the west of the city to defend.

Brigade commander Liu Yunlong saw that the roundabout troops were overjoyed on the west flank, and immediately ordered the artillery to be fired. The east and west attacked, and the Qing army suddenly became chaotic. There were no moats on the west side, and only fixed old artillery on the walls did not pose much of a threat. The soldiers rushed to the city wall, the dense grenades were the first to patronize, and the smoke ladder accompanied by the explosion was set up on the city wall, and soon the assault team climbed to the top of the city, although the Qing army defended to the death, but the hand-to-hand battle, the Qing army was difficult to resist.

Frankly speaking, the Huai army had a certain combat effectiveness, although the soldiers of the Huai army still struggled to resist it. On the other hand, the officers and soldiers of the Green Battalion in the city were the first to collapse their psychological defense line and began to flee in all directions. Nie Shicheng killed several green battalion officers in a row to no avail, seeing that the Northern Expeditionary Army was so fast, especially the bombs thrown in their hands, the people under their command turned on their backs, and they couldn't resist it at all. An hour later, the city was broken on the east side, and the breaches were opened on the east and west sides one after another, and there was no suspense in the battle.

When Nie Shicheng saw this scene, he knew that he was powerless. He closed his eyes in agony, ready to kill himself with a knife. "Your Excellency, don't do it, the guards stepped forward and fought for the sword. A grenade exploded nearby, and the blast of the explosion knocked Nie Shicheng to the ground. Someone shouted in panic: "The chief soldier is dead, the chief soldier is dead!" "The Qing army immediately collapsed. With the shouts of the Northern Expeditionary Army not to kill, the Qing soldiers raised their hands and surrendered in pieces.

At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, there was no more gunfire in Zhenjiang City, and the Northern Expeditionary Army was advancing non-stop along the inner side of the defense line to attack the Dantu. Chen Jinwei went ashore at the Zhenjiang wharf and entered the city. "Report to the deputy commander-in-chief, the battle is all over. 500 Qing troops in the city fled to Dantu, and the rest were all captured. Zhenjiang Chief Soldier Nie Shicheng? Chen Jinxuan cared about Nie Shicheng, because before the expedition, Deng Zixuan sent a letter that if Nie Shicheng was captured, he must be treated well and persuaded his family to join the ranks of the Northern Expeditionary Army. and repeatedly explained that this person is a general, and if he can use it for himself, he can play a role in disintegrating the Qing army.

In fact, now Nie Shicheng is still an unknown person, and Deng Zixuan is based on his outstanding performance in later generations, and it is completely out of favor. This man is brave and resourceful. But Deng Zixuan firmly believed. The figure who can show his prominence in history is by no means incompetent, and perhaps his talent was buried by the Qing court. It is gold that will always shine, and after being tempered by the grinding and war, it will definitely shine. War needs brave generals, and war needs warriors who regard death as home.

"He was stunned by a grenade, and according to his men, this guy is going to die!" Liu Yunlong was a little dismissive. "Bring Nie Shicheng here immediately, I want to see him!" Chen Jinyu shouted loudly. After a while, the tall and burly Nie Shicheng appeared in front of him. Chen Jinxuan was secretly surprised when he saw Nie Shicheng, and secretly thought that this person was really strong, no wonder Deng Zixuan took a fancy to this person. "How do you treat General Nie like this, what kind of system does it become!" Chen Jinfang stepped forward and loosened his tie.

"There is no need to pretend, the general of the defeated army has nothing to say, and if you want to kill, you must scrape and listen to it." Nie Shicheng is righteous and fearless. "Sure enough, it's a fierce general. The contempt was Chen Jinwei, deputy commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Back then, I was a twisted army, and how many good brothers died in the hands of your Huai army. If you want to say hatred, I am not in the same heaven as you. "So what are you waiting for? I, Nie Shicheng, would be a fucking bastard if I blinked. ”

"I'm going to kill you? Hatred should be counted on the head of the Qing court. Commander-in-Chief Deng warned us that for the sake of the great cause of the nation, and for the sake of overthrowing the corrupt, incompetent, and reactionary Manchu court, we can forgive anyone. In the future, if we capture the capital, even if we capture the Guangxu Emperor and the Empress Dowager Cixi, we will not be killed. Commander-in-Chief Deng said that Li Hongzhang is a rare figure and will be reused whenever he chooses to surrender. ”

Nie Shicheng was a little surprised when he heard this, and Chen Jincheng smiled and said, "General Nie, I know you can't think about it for a while, go and stay to listen to your honor." The premise is that after we take Nanjing, you can choose to stay or leave, and you will be by my side during this time. Chen Jinyu knew that the person in front of him would not give in easily, but this move made him feel very good. That night, Chen Jinyu held a banquet and drank with Nie Shi in pairs. Nie Shicheng remained cold and silent.

Chen Jinyu said with a smile: "General Nie, I know that you are not convinced and think that we use sneak attack tactics. There is a saying that the key to a hero not asking for a source is the result. You must be familiar with Sun Tzu's art of war, and you are also a soldier. To tell you the truth, we can also break the city by attacking head-on, but at the cost of casualties. The Northern Expeditionary Army was a new-style army, and when we were training officers at the military academy, we warned that how to defeat the enemy can be unscrupulous and omnipotent. What we are looking for is not just how to defeat the enemy, but how to defeat the enemy at the lowest cost. Nie Shicheng was touched when he heard this.