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The prefect of Chenzhou has now been requisitioned by the Qing army and has become the headquarters of the Qing army. It's just that the Mongolian cavalry has already withdrawn to Hengyang one step in advance, and the 20,000 Eight Banner Iron Cavalry also followed, breaking through before the Xinhua army surrounded Chenzhou City, and now there are only 60,000 green battalion soldiers left in Chenzhou City. The huge casualties have made the morale of the Qing army low now, and even Chen Jinshou, the governor of Zhili, Gui Ming, the governor of Hubei, and Changchun, the governor of Hunan, are also very depressed. They no longer have any hope of victory, as long as they can escape, it is already God forbid. Of course, with the Xinhua army already surrounding Chenzhou, it is not easy for them to escape!

Chenzhou City is just a small city, with a circumference of less than five miles, and there were originally only 20,000 or 30,000 people in the city. Now tens of thousands of green battalion soldiers have poured in at once, and the small city has suddenly become crowded. In addition, those green battalion soldiers who had just been defeated from the battlefield, because of the defeat, the military discipline was naturally not too good, so that the people in the city also suffered. Breaking down the door and robbing has become a very common thing, if there is a slight disagreement, it will even kill people directly, which family has a beautiful girl or daughter-in-law, it is even more moldy for eight lifetimes. Those soldiers and ruffians don't care so much, they will be killed by the Xinhua Army anyway, and before they die, they have to enjoy themselves.

For the people of Chenzhou. They're in a military disaster. Countless families have been ruined by these routs. The prefect of Chenzhou sent a message to Changchun, the governor of Hunan, hoping that Changchun would restrain the green battalion soldiers in the city. However, the Green Battalion soldiers who entered Chenzhou. In addition to Hu Nanbing, there are also Hubei soldiers and northern soldiers, which are not something he can control at all. Besides, now that everyone is figuring out how to deal with the crisis, where is the extra energy to take care of these little things?

Yes, in the eyes of these high-ranking first-class officials, the innocent people of Chenzhou were bullied by the soldiers. It's just a trivial matter. They simply did not care about the life and death of ordinary people.

"General Chen, let's break through! Now there are not many Xinhua troops outside Chenzhou, and their heavy artillery units have not yet arrived. If you break through. We still have a chance to live. Hubei Governor Gui Ming suggested to Chen Jinshou.

"General Gui, the Xinhua army outside the city has more than 20,000 people. Although the number is not as good as ours. However, their combat effectiveness is not at all comparable to that of our Green Battalion soldiers. Previous battles. General Gui is also very clear. If we retreat, how many of us will be left to break out of the encirclement unharmed? This official believes that we should defend Chenzhou to the death, and with the tens of thousands of troops in our hands, no matter how we can maneuver for ten days and half a month, maybe there will be a turnaround at that time. Hunan Governor Changchun said. If they retreat, even if they can get away with it, it will inevitably make the situation in the entire Shonan region erosive. When the time comes. He, the governor of Hunan, will definitely be the first to be questioned.

"Alas! It's all that guy from Monk Greenqin. If he had been able to resist the Xinhua Army for two hours, we would not have reached this point. If he can survive this catastrophe, the official must be in front of the saint and mercilessly participate in him! Chen Jinshou said very angrily. Monk Greenqin not only failed to complete the task of breaking off, but also took the lead in escaping, and also abducted and took away 20,000 Eight Banner Iron Cavalry, so that Chen Jinshou now has only tens of thousands of green battalion soldiers with no fighting spirit left. If you want to use these troops to resist the attack of the Xinhua army, it is almost impossible.

Hunan Governor Changchun and Hubei Governor Gui Ming also resented Monk Greenqin very much, thinking that the reason for the current predicament was entirely because of Monk Greenqin. It's just that even if they want to seek revenge on Monk Greenqin, they must first survive this catastrophe. Otherwise, once killed or captured by the Xinhua army, everything will be over.

"General Chen, what to do next, you have an idea. The more it drags on, the worse it will be for us! Hubei Admiral Gui Ming said.

Chen Jinshou hesitated for a moment, and then said: "The official has decided, stick to Chenzhou, and immediately fly pigeons to pass the book and ask the court for help." In addition, to restrain the soldiers, there is no need to make trouble in Chenzhou City, we have to defend Chenzhou City, and we need the support of the people if we can't burn it. ”

"Yes, General!" Hubei Admiral Gui Ming and Hunan Admiral Changchun both nodded. It's just that their actions seem to be over, and at this time, the Qing army is in Chenzhou City, which has aroused public resentment. Everyone is just afraid of the Qing army and dare not speak out.

On the afternoon of 5 March, Major General Sun Hao, chief of operations of the General Staff of the Xinhua Army, arrived outside Chenzhou, accompanied by 90 105-mm howitzers of the 1st Heavy Artillery Brigade and brigade artillery battalions of several infantry brigades. At this time, the Xinhua Army had assembled six infantry brigades and one heavy artillery brigade outside Chenzhou, with a total strength of more than 40,000 people. Although in terms of troops, the Xinhua army is far from being able to compare with the Qing army, but the previous battles have proved that the combat power of the two sides is completely different. The Xinhua army could easily defeat the Qing army, which was twice or more numerous than them.

"General, the Qing army in the city is about fifty or sixty thousand people. The Mongol cavalry had already retreated from here to Hengyang three days earlier. The 20,000 Eight Banners also retreated before our encirclement was formed. Brigadier General Zhang Wei, commander of the 1st Brigade, reported to Major General Sun Hao.

"How many people are there in the city?" Major General Sun Hao asked. The fifty or sixty thousand green battalion soldiers of the Qing army, or the green battalion soldiers who were beaten and lost their armor, were not taken into his eyes at all.

"General, the people in the city are only about twenty or thirty thousand people. After the Qing army retreated into the city, they blocked the city gates, and none of them were able to escape. Brigadier General Zhang Wei said.

Major General Sun Hao nodded, and then said: "Start the attack tomorrow morning, destroy the city defense of Chenzhou with heavy artillery, and then attack the city to clear the Qing army in the city as soon as possible." ”

Although, the storming of Chenzhou will definitely cause civilian casualties. But where are the immortals in war? Only by ending the war at an early date can we truly save these innocent people from fire and water.

"Yes, General!" Brigadier General Zhang Wei said.

The next day, at 7:30 a.m. on March 6, the 1st Heavy Artillery Brigade of the Xinhua Army carried out a heavy artillery bombardment of the southern city wall of Chenzhou. The city wall of Chenzhou is only two zhang high, and it is very old, and it has not been repaired, and its defense has been greatly reduced.

After being heavily bombarded by 90 105-mm guns of the Xinhua Army, large sections of the city wall were blown up. The green battalion soldiers guarding it suffered heavy losses. Those who survived by luck fled to the city with a crawl, not wanting to die on the city wall again.

In this battle, the six infantry brigades of the Xinhua Army, except for the two infantry brigades that went forward to guard against the Qing army in Hengyang, the other four infantry brigades were all ready to be put into the attack on Chenzhou.

The fierce shelling of the Xinhua army made the Qing army and the common people in the city very panicked. Although the target of the Xinhua artillery bombardment was the southern city wall, it was inevitable that mistakes would occur, and some shells fell into the city, destroying some houses.

At 7:56 a.m., the city wall near the south gate of Chenzhou collapsed after a series of heavy shelling. A gap of more than 50 meters was created.

"Infantry attack!" Seeing this, Major General Sun Hao immediately ordered the infantry to attack. Two infantry battalions of the 1st Brigade of the Xinhua Army took the lead in the attack. In the fierce artillery bombardment of the Xinhua army, the Qing army had already abandoned the southern city defense, which made the Xinhua army not blocked at all when attacking. It was not until they entered the city through the gap that they were attacked by the Qing army.

Some Qing troops attacked the Xinhua army entering the city with shotguns, guns, and even bows and arrows, causing some casualties to the Xinhua army. Subsequently, the Xinhua army began to counterattack with rifles and mortars. The fierce counterattack was much stronger than the attack of the Qing army. After killing hundreds of Qing soldiers, the Qing army fled.

Subsequently, more and more Xinhua troops invaded the city of Chenzhou and began to purge the remnants of the enemy in the city. The city of Chenzhou was originally not large, and tens of thousands of Qing troops entered the city, which was already very crowded. After the Xinhua army entered the city, the Qing soldiers thought that the general trend had passed. They all hid in people's homes to avoid the Xinhua army.

Chenzhou was originally not big, and the Xinhua Army launched a house-by-house cleanup, and every house was not spared. In the process of purging and suppressing, some Qing troops put up stubborn resistance, not only killing and wounding some soldiers of the Xinhua Army, but also causing civilian casualties.

However, on the whole, after the Xinhua Army shouted the slogan of surrendering guns and not killing, more and more Qing troops laid down their weapons and surrendered to the Xinhua Army. They are soldiers just to mix a bowl of rice to eat, there is no need to give up their lives. Since they surrendered, the Xinhua army would not kill them, so the fool would continue to resist.

More and more Qing troops laid down their arms and surrendered to the Xinhua army, and everyone knew that the Qing army was over.

At noon, the Xinhua army surrounded the Yamen of the Chenzhou prefect in the center of the city, where only the personal guards of the three admirals were left. The rest of the Qing army had already surrendered to the Xinhua army.

After that, the Xinhua army issued an ultimatum to the recalcitrant Qing troops in the prefect's yamen, asking them to come out and surrender within half an hour. Otherwise, there will be a strong attack. When the time comes, all the people inside will be killed.

In the end, Chen Jinshou, the governor of Zhili, Gui Ming, the governor of Hubei, and Changchun, the governor of Hunan, the three first-class members of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, surrendered to the Xinhua army. Although they shouted in their mouths for His Majesty's loyalty, at the last moment, they still chose to save their lives. (To be continued......)