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Fujian is mountainous and the fields are scarce, which makes the life of Fujian people relatively poor, and at the same time, it also creates the brave character of Fujian people. The mountain people of Fujian have always been the best source of soldiers. After the Xinhua army captured Guangdong, Putuobao, the land governor of Fujian, immediately led the army to garrison Zhangzhou, Longyan and other places to block the Xinhua army from entering Fujian. Subsequently, Li Tingyu, the governor of Zhejiang, led 30,000 Zhejiang green battalions to the south for reinforcements. The two armies, totaling more than 60,000 people, attacked Guangdong from the junction of Fujian and Guangdong.

The 3rd and 13th Brigades of the Xinhua Army were stationed in Meizhou and Chaozhou to resist the attack of the Qing army. Although the strength of the Qing army was five times that of the Xinhua army, the Xinhua army, which was on the defensive, was still at ease. The area between Meizhou and Longyan is mountainous, and it is difficult to pass through large troops. The Qing army in the Fujian direction could only attack from the coastal plain. However, in the face of the strong defensive line built by the Xinhua Army, the Qing army in the direction of Fujian was still bleeding.

On February 28, 1843, when the Xinhua Army in northern Guangdong launched an attack, the Xinhua Army in northeastern Guangdong, reinforced by three infantry brigades, also launched a counterattack against the Qing army in the direction of Fujian. After more than a month of defensive operations, they already had a fire in their hearts. Now the total strength has reached more than 30,000 people in five brigades, and it has enough strength to launch a counterattack. In addition, the navy also sent two 'Shark-class' cruisers to reinforce them, which made the Xinhua army full of confidence in defeating the Qing army in Fujian.

"Brothers. The Qing army on the opposite side has been pressing us for more than a month. Now, finally, it's our turn to fight back. Tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. The artillery opened fire first, so that those turtle sons knew that we were awesome! "The brigade commander of the 3rd Brigade of the Xinhua Army is named Zhou Laosi, and he probably forgot what his real name was. Originally, their brigade was stationed in Mindanao, but he personally rushed to Manila. asked Long Yufei to fight, and then transferred their brigade to the front line.

"Brigade Commander Zhou's orders are clear to everyone, it's up to us tomorrow." Brigadier General Gu Yun, commander of the 13th Brigade, said. He was originally the son of the great ruler of the Lanfang Kingdom. It's just that the current Lan Fangguo has become a thing of the past. Gu Yun has now accepted the identity of the brigade commander of the Xinhua Army, and he is very happy. In his opinion, the brigade commander of the Xinhua Army is much more powerful than when he was in Lanfangguo. He is now with the rank of brigadier general. When this battle is over. Maybe he can be promoted to another level, and when the time comes, he will be a high-ranking person in the Xinhua Army.

"Yes, General!" Colonel Cheng Yuan, commander of the 25th Brigade of the Xinhua Army, Colonel Qiu Zhisheng, commander of the 26th Brigade, and Colonel Guo Mingkun, commander of the 27th Brigade, replied one after another. They didn't care about Brigadier General Zhou's temper at all, soldiers, they should have blood.

It was half past seven in the morning. The 5th Brigade of the Xinhua Army belongs to the artillery battalion, with a total of 120 75-mm field guns. Heavy artillery bombardment was launched on the positions of the Qing troops. For a time, the positions and barracks of the Qing army were completely shrouded in gunsmoke.

At this time, the Qing army had just gotten up. Most of them were still disheveled. Everyone didn't even have time to get their weapons, so they could only run away desperately. The sudden attack of the Xinhua army was completely unexpected by the Qing army. Before, it had always been their main attack, and the Xinhua Army was passively defensive.

"What's going on, what's going on?" Putuobao, the governor of Fujian land, rushed out of the military tent, he was only wearing an ordinary pair, and he was not wearing armor on his body, which showed how anxious he was.

"General, something is wrong, the Xinhua Army is launching a fierce artillery bombardment, and it is estimated that it will attack soon." A pipe band said to Putuo.

"Damn, order all troops to immediately enter the battle to resist the attack of the Xinhua army, and absolutely not let them attack Fujian!" Putuo Bao ordered with a dark face.

"Yes, General." The pipe band went to give the order. It's just that he knows how difficult it will be for the soldiers to brave the artillery fire of the Xinhua Army at this time.

"General Pu, has the Xinhua Army called?" Zhejiang Governor Li Tingyu also came, but he was also disheveled.

"Well, I have ordered the troops to assemble and prepare to defend against the Xinhua army." Putuo Bao said.

"General Pu, I think this time the Xinhua army is menacing, let's retreat immediately." Li Tingyu suggested.

However, Putuobao refused to retreat, he did not believe that they had tens of thousands of people and could not resist the attack of the Xinhua army.

In the heavy shelling of the Xinhua army, the Qing army suffered heavy casualties. A large number of Qing troops broke and fled, and even those middle and lower-level officers, driving the soldiers to resist the Xinhua army, did not seem to be of any use. The overseers cut off dozens of heads in a row, and they couldn't stop the Qing army from fleeing.

After half an hour of shelling, the Xinhua army began its offensive. The 3rd Brigade of the Xinhua Army took the lead and launched the attack. The 13th Brigade attacked from the other side, attacking the Qing flank. Of the other three newly formed infantry brigades, the other two brigades were also engaged in battle, except for the 27th Brigade, which remained as a reserve. Although the newly formed troops have completed the training of recruits, they have not received the baptism of war after all, and can only really grow up after seeing blood on the battlefield.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! "The Xinhua army lined up in a sparse skirmish line to attack the positions of the Qing army, constantly firing guns, and suppressing the counterattack of the Qing army with the range of rifles. The bird guns and old-fashioned lifting guns used by the Qing army could not pose a threat to the Xinhua army at all.

Mortars that followed the infantry were also erected, and the positions of the Qing army were bombarded violently, and the Qing troops cried and cried for their mothers. The defensive line, which had finally been assembled, collapsed in an instant.

In less than half an hour, the Xinhua army attacked the position of the Qing army. The defensive forces assembled by the Qing army were all routed. The commanders of the Qing army, Putuobao, the land governor of Fujian, and Li Tingyu, the governor of Zhejiang, led the remnants of the defeated army to flee to Xiamen. Trying to survive on the protection of the strait. The Fujian Navy Division was beaten hard by the 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Army before, and although it lost most of it, it still gathered more than 2,000 remnants of troops and more than a dozen warships, but it was able to guard the waterway between Xiamen Island and the land.

In the first battle of Zhangzhou, the Xinhua army annihilated more than 20,000 Qing troops, excluding those who fled, and the Qing army that fled back to Xiamen Island was only more than 30,000 people. It's only half of the beginning. This made Putuobao, the governor of Fujian by land, very frustrated, and on the one hand, he stepped up the deployment of the defense on Xiamen Island, and on the other hand, he asked for help from Yiliang, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and Bichang, the general of Fuzhou. Fujian's army, in addition to the 30,000 green battalions, also has tens of thousands of Eight Banner soldiers. It's just that it's hard to say how much combat effectiveness these Eight Banners have.

On the afternoon of 1 March, the Xinhua Army arrived below, across the strait from Xiamen Island. Although the arrival of the Xinhua army in Xiamen made Putuo Bao and Li Tingyu a little worried, they were still very calm in their hearts because of the strait separation.

"Humph! Do you think that this strait, which is only more than a kilometer wide, will be able to stop them? It's simply delusional. Where did the two cruisers of the Navy go? When will I be able to come? Brigadier General Zhou Laosi said disdainfully.

"Lao Zhou, the two cruisers of the Navy only set off from Shantou yesterday afternoon, and they are expected to arrive today." Brigadier General Gu Yun, commander of the 13th Brigade, said. The strait of Xiamen Island is not wide, only a little more than a kilometer. The field artillery equipped by the army of the Xinhua Army is fully capable of shelling the other side of the strait and then covering the landing of infantry. However, it was not possible to find that many ships for a while. The navy's cruisers arrived with a dozen or so transports and merchant ships. At that time, the Xinhua army could use these transport ships and merchant ships to cross the strait and attack the Qing army on the island.

In the evening of the same day, the No. 42 and No. 44 cruisers of the Xinhua Navy arrived in Xiamen, and behind these two cruisers were 11 transport ships and merchant ships. Upon their arrival, the two cruisers immediately launched an attack on the remnants of the Fujian naval division. The main strength of the Fujian Navy Division had been wiped out by the 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Navy before, and in the face of the two cruisers of the Xinhua Navy, it had no power to counterattack.

When the naval guns echoed on the sea, the warships of the Qing army were sunk one after another. By sunset, the warships of the Qing army's Fujian Navy Division had all been wiped out.

On the morning of 2 March, five artillery battalions of the Xinhua Army began firing at Qing positions on the other side of the strait. The strait, which is a little more than a kilometer, could not withstand the artillery fire of the Xinhua Army at all. Two cruisers also bombarded the positions of the Qing troops with naval guns from their battleships. The 105 mm naval guns and 75 mm naval guns on the battleship were much more powerful than the 75 mm field guns used by the army. The heavy artillery bombardment caused heavy losses to the Qing troops who retreated to Xiamen Island. had to abandon the beachhead and retreat to the center of Xiamen Island.

At nine o'clock in the morning, two infantry battalions of the 3rd Brigade of the Xinhua Army, taking transport ships and merchant ships, crossed the strait and landed on Xiamen Island. Under the cover of artillery fire from two cruisers of the Navy, an attack was made towards the center of the island. Other troops also began to be transported to Xiamen Island one after another.

As more and more Xinhua troops landed on Xiamen Island, the casualties paid by the Qing army also increased, and the resistance became weaker and weaker.

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, a shell of the Xinhua Army hit the headquarters of the Qing army, and Putuobao, the land governor of Fujian, was killed on the spot. However, he was already scared out of his mind. He knew that if he continued to fight, he would definitely follow in the footsteps of Putuobao. Therefore, Li Tingyu immediately sent people to beg for surrender to the Xinhua Army.

Brigadier General Zhou Laosi, commander of the 3rd Brigade of the Xinhua Army, accepted the surrender of Li Tingyu, the governor of Zhejiang, and thus the main force of the Qing army in the direction of Fujian was wiped out. (To be continued......)