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With the combat strength of an infantry corps and a heavy artillery brigade of the Imperial 6th Army, if you can entrench yourself in the fortified city and defend it, even if you are besieged by an enemy several times your size, you will not be afraid. Although Runing is not a strong city, it can be regarded as a county seat. It was not so easy for the Qing army to conquer Runing, which was under the defense of the Imperial 6th Army. In addition, the reason why the Imperial 6th Army dispersed its operations was precisely to give the Qing army an opportunity. Because of the lack of cavalry, the mobility of the Imperial 6th Army was far inferior to that of the Qing Army. If you want to destroy the cavalry of the Qing army, you can only take the initiative to attract the Qing army to attack. Then mobilize an army to besiege the Qing army. In fact, the 5th Army was just a decoy, nothing more than a bait sprinkled with poison. After the Qing army bites, it is doomed.

On the night of 23 January, the 5th Army of the 6th Imperial Army and the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade camped more than 60 kilometers from Runing. At this time, they received a telegram from the General Staff. Major General Zhao Mingfu, commander of the 5th Army, suddenly smiled on his tense face after reading the telegram translated by the communications officer. The content of the telegram was short and had only one meaning. That is, the Qing army has begun to mobilize, and the 5th Army needs to quickly capture Runing, and then start a defense on the spot, and after consuming the living force of the Qing army, it will converge with the reinforcements that arrive to annihilate the Qing army.

"Haha, the fish has finally taken the bait. However, the main force of the Qing army is really our 5th Army. Could it be that those clear dogs think that we who are at the bottom of the number are soft persimmons? This time, let those clear dogs know that we are awesome! Major General Zhao Mingfu laughed and said. The reason why the 5th Army did not wait for the follow-up 2nd Army and the 2O Army to press from Xinyang to Xuchang in advance. In order to attract the Qing army. I didn't expect the Qing army to really take the bait. In fact, the 3rd Army was tasked with the same task. However, the Qing army came straight to the 5th Army. Instead of the 3rd Army, this made Major General Zhao Mingfu still feel a little unhappy. After all, this undoubtedly shows that the 5th Army is treated as a soft persimmon.

"Someone came, passed on my orders, and the whole army stopped camping and went out overnight. Be sure to get to Runing by tomorrow afternoon and take it! Major General Zhao Mingfu ordered. If it could not enter Runing before the main force of the Qing army arrived, it would not be so easy for the 5th Army to withstand the Qing army's attack. There is no danger to defend in the plains. It is extremely easy to be broken through by the cavalry of the Qing army. If there is a city to defend, it will be very different. Even if Runing is only a small county town, after deployment, it is enough to become a strong city to resist the cavalry of the Qing army.

"Yes. Checkmate! The herald immediately passed General Zhao Mingfu's order to the brigades under the 5th Army and the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade that accompanied the 5th Army. It was supposed to be after a day's journey. The troops were already very tired. However, everyone knew that the military situation was urgent, so they immediately stopped camping and continued to march towards Runing. Although it is not easy to walk at night, the degree of the troops is only four or five kilometers per hour. But before the afternoon, there was no problem in rushing to Runing. In terms of the Qing army's defensive strength in Runing, there is no problem at all in taking Runing. The only difficulty was that the Imperial 6th Army had to reach Runing before the Qing cavalry arrived. Not to mention anything else, it takes a lot of time for the artillery to rush to the road.

6th Army of the Reich 5th Army and Heavy Artillery Brigade. Overnight, he marched towards Runing. At the same time, the Qing army also advanced south under the leadership of Seng Lingqin. The Qing army marching south consisted of three cavalry corps and two infantry corps. A total of 175,000 people. The 6th Army of the 5th Imperial Army and the Heavy Artillery Brigade combined were only more than 40,000 people. The Qing army had a fourfold advantage. If it was a field battle, the Qing army might have a relatively large chance of winning by relying on the impact of cavalry. However, if the Imperial 6th Army entered Runing, and the Qing army wanted to win, there would be no door.

Compared with the 5th Army and the Heavy Artillery Brigade of the 6th Army of the Empire from Xinyang to Runing, the Qing Army from Kaifeng and Xuchang in central Henan to Runing undoubtedly traveled a little farther. Originally, the intention of the Qing army was to rely on the superiority of cavalry to attack the Imperial 6th Army first, and after the Imperial 6th Army was dispersed, the infantry gradually annihilated the Imperial 6th Army. Therefore, the coordination of the 13th and 15th armies of the Qing infantry is very important. Officially, because of the drag of the infantry of the Qing army, the degree of the Qing army was greatly affected. By the time they arrived at Runing, the Imperial 6th Army had already captured Runing.

At 1 p.m. on January 24, the 5th Infantry Brigade, the vanguard of the 5th Army of the Imperial 6th Army, arrived at Runing. Even though the brigade artillery battalion was still lagging behind, the brigade commander, Brigadier General Zheng Benqing, immediately gave the order to attack, relying on the infantry guns and mortars of each battalion to provide fire cover for the infantry and launched an attack on Runing. At this time, the Qing army only deployed one regiment of troops in Runing.

In the face of the sudden attack of the Imperial 6th Army, the Qing army was not prepared at all. Not even the sandbags that sealed the city were prepared. After the city gate was blown open by the Imperial 6th Army, the soldiers of the 5th Brigade of the Imperial 6th Army attacked the city. Subsequently, the Imperial 6th Army began to launch a fierce attack on the Qing army in the city. The Qing army could not resist the attack of the Imperial 6th Army at all, and abandoned the city one after another.

After the 5th Brigade of the 6th Imperial Army captured Runing, it did not lay siege to the Qing army, but began to strengthen the walls of Runing. Compared with Runing City, the circumference is only ten kilometers. It is no more than three meters high, and the moat under the city has also fallen into disrepair for many years and has long since dried up. If the Imperial 6th Army wanted to resist the attack of more than 100,000 Qing troops in Runing, it was necessary to strengthen the defense of Runing.

After dark on the 24th, the follow-up troops of the 5th Army of the 6th Imperial Army entered Runing one after another, and the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade also rushed to Runing. At this time, Seng Lingqin learned that the 5th Army of the 6th Army of the Empire had captured Runing. This made Seng Lingqin very angry, and they were already less than fifty kilometers away from Runing at this time. Originally, in their plan, they were able to reach Runing before the Imperial 6th Army, and then attack the Imperial 6th Army outside Runing. However, now it is reversed.

"What now? Those rebels actually captured Runing first. Our plan to defeat the rebels under Runing City has been aborted! Monk Lingqin said with a dark face. The army commanders below also looked at each other one by one. The Russian army had just been killed by the 6th Army of the Chinese Empire under Shengjing City, which caused a great shadow on them, and if they were to attack Runing, it would make them panic.

The British adviser, Major General Jerrison, was also a little speechless, and now it seems that their carefully prepared plan seems to have a loophole, or a fatal loophole. If you can't quickly annihilate the 5th Army of the Chinese Army, it will not be so easy to destroy the Chinese Army after the subsequent reinforcements of the Chinese Army arrive. When the time comes, if the Qing army wants to turn the tables in Henan, it will be even more impossible.

"General Jeffreyson, what do we do next?" Monk Lingqin asked.

"Your Excellency, there is no other way for us now. But fortunately, Runing is just a small city, not a fortified city like Shengjing City. If we want to break through Runing, it will be much less difficult. It's just that in this case, I'm afraid the price we pay will be a little bigger. Maj. Gen. Jalison said.

Monk Grinqin nodded, now he had three cavalry corps and two infantry corps in his hands, with more than 170,000 men. Although the Imperial 6th Army was the first to enter Runing, he also believed that the Qing army was not without a chance of victory. With the strength of the Qing army, it should not be a big problem to capture the small county town of Runing.

"Okay, I'll order the whole army to march towards Runing. We will definitely be able to capture Runing and eliminate the rebels entrenched there before the reinforcements arrive! Monk Grinqin said. When he was in Hunan, he was chased away by the 6th Army of the Empire, which has always been his greatest shame. Originally, he also wanted to achieve military exploits on the battlefield and then use it to become a prince. However, with that failure, it also came to naught. He's still just the king of the county.

"In addition, give orders to the 7th Cavalry Corps, the 8th Cavalry Corps, the 3rd Infantry Corps, and the 6th Infantry Corps to speed up their southward movement." Maj. Gen. Jerrison said. He had to prepare for the worst. If they can't capture Runing before the reinforcements of the Imperial 6th Army arrive, they will have to prepare for a big battle with the Imperial 6th Army. When the time comes, the concentration of sufficient forces will help the Qing army to gain an advantage.

"Hmm!" Monk Lingqin nodded, and he also agreed. However, he thought that he might have won the victory before the two cavalry corps and two infantry corps arrived.

On the morning of January 25, 1846, the 3rd Cavalry Corps of the Qing Army was the first to rush to Runing. However, at this time, Runing was already under the control of the Imperial 6th Army. In the face of the 6th Imperial Army, which was waiting for the battle, the 3rd Cavalry Corps of the Qing Army did not attack, but remained vigilant from afar. Subsequently, the 4th Cavalry Corps and the 5th Cavalry Corps of the Qing Army also arrived. Before the infantry arrived, they did not take the initiative to attack to avoid losses. You must know that the cavalry of the Qing army is mainly composed of the Eight Banners Iron Cavalry and the Mongolian Cavalry, all of which are their treasures, and if the loss is too great, it will cause heavy damage to the Manchu Qing. As for the infantry, it was mainly composed of Han Chinese. No matter how much they lose, they won't feel distressed.

In the afternoon of the same day, the 13th Infantry Corps and the 14th Infantry Corps of the Qing Army also rushed to the city of Runing. At this point, the main force of the Qing army led by Seng Lingqin had all arrived in Runing. Their targets were the 5th Army of the Imperial 6th Army, which was entrenched in Runing, and the 2nd Brigade of Heavy Artillery, which the Qing Army did not know about. Similarly, the Imperial 6th Army was also ready for battle, just waiting for the Qing army to attack. (To be continued!u.)

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