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The seat of the governor of Anhui is located in Anqing, which is also an important city along the Yangtze River. After receiving the order of Niu Jian, the governor of Liangjiang, the governor of Anhui, Cheng Nancai, was shocked, but he still ordered the army of the Anhui Green Battalion to march to Jiangning as soon as possible. After all, Jiangning is downstream of Anqing, and once Jiangning falls, Anqing is destined to be unsaved. What's more, Niu Jian, the governor of Liangjiang, is his immediate boss, and if he is sent to Jingshi with a disobedient and disrespectful performance, he may fall to the ground.

It's just that it will take time for the troops of the Anhui Green Battalion to assemble and go to Jiangning. Although it can go downstream, the troops of the Anhui Green Battalion are distributed all over Anhui, and when Cheng Nancai's order is issued, the troops from all over the country will go to Jiangning, and by that time, the Xinhua army has already arrived in Jiangning. Now, only dead horses are used as live horse doctors, and they are gambling.

In the Jiangning Governor's Palace, Niu Jian, the governor of Liangjiang, can't eat or sleep these days, and Dezhubu, the general of Jiangning, also spends most of his time here. Spies kept sending them the latest information about the Xinhua Army. However, every time the Xinhua army conquered another city, the faces of the two of them would become more and more gloomy.

"Report, the Governor, the General, and the Governor Sun have abandoned Suzhou and are retreating to Jiangning, and the Xinhua Army has captured Suzhou. At present, the Xinhua Army has more than 10,000 troops on land, and is marching along the official road from Suzhou to Jiangning, and by water, hundreds of warships of the Xinhua Army. is swimming against the river. An officer reported to Niu Jian and Dezhubu.

"Well, let's go down." Niu Jian waved his hand helplessly, and the Xinhua army approached Jiangning step by step. He felt that the pressure on him was mounting. If Jiang Ning fell again, then he didn't know if he would have such good luck to escape this disaster this time.

"Lord Niu, from Suzhou to Jiangning, it is only five hundred miles, and with the speed of the Xinhua Army, it will take seven days at most. In addition, the Xinhua Army from the Yangtze River up the river. The speed is even faster, and it is expected that it will only take three to four days to reach Jiangning. Our spies have already found out the large and small warships and merchant ships of the Xinhua Army. There are more than 300 ships, which means that those warships and merchant ships are carrying at least 60,000 or 70,000 Xinhua troops. Judging by the number of troops we have now. To resist so many Xinhua troops. That's easier said than done. Jiangning General Dezhubu said with some despair, the more he understood the strength of the Xinhua Army, the more discouraged he became. The Qing army of more than 300,000 people besieged Guangdong, and the Xinhua army faced was only a few tens of thousands. Now they only have tens of thousands of people in Jiangning, but they have to deal with 60,000 or 70,000 Xinhua troops, no matter how you look at it, this is unrealistic. If possible. Dezhubu wanted to give up Jiangning and escaped. However, Jiangning is not the same as other cities. This is the center of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and if you abandon Jiangning without firing a shot, even if you can escape back to Beijing, it is estimated that there will be no way to survive.

After listening to the analysis of Jiangning's general Dezhubu, Niu Jian, the governor of Liangjiang, turned pale. Even if the army of the Anhui Green Battalion can arrive in time, they will be able to concentrate at most 50,000 horses, of which 30,000 are the Eight Banners soldiers with weak combat effectiveness, how can they face the 70,000 or 80,000 vicious Xinhua Army? Although the Jiangning city defense is strong, but the artillery of the Xinhua Army is also very sharp, the Jiangnan Navy Division staff general Fu Zhulong A who fled back from Nantong told the Xinhua Army to dispatch 12 warships, only with ferocious firepower, the Jiangnan Navy Division battalion was destroyed, and the Jiangnan Navy Division suffered heavy losses because of this. Even Jiangning is estimated to be unable to withstand the fierce artillery fire of the Xinhua Army.

"General De, we have no other way, for today's plan, we can only hold on to the end and wait for the arrival of reinforcements from the imperial court." Niu Jian said.

"Lord Niu, there are hundreds of thousands of ordinary people in Nanjing, and there are hundreds of thousands of people around, while the Xinhua army is not coming, let's recruit more troops to resist the Xinhua army." Only the more troops we have, the more likely we are to hold out. Dezhubu said.

"However, without the edict of the imperial court, we recruited troops without authorization, which is a felony of killing the head!" Niu Jian, the governor of Liangjiang, said with some concern.

"Lord Niu, I can't care so much. As long as you can hold Jiangning and hold on until the arrival of the imperial army, it will be a great achievement. For the rest, the imperial court will definitely not take care of it. Jiangning General Dezhubu said.

Niu Jian hesitated, nodded, and agreed to Dezhubu's construction. can't hold Jiangning, they are all dead ends. As long as he can resist the attack of the Xinhua Army, no matter what method is adopted, Emperor Daoguang must be able to understand.

"Okay, General De, I will immediately issue an order to recruit the villagers and resist the Xinhua army." Niu Jian said.

The news that the Xinhua Army was marching towards Jiangning on a large scale had already made hundreds of thousands of people in Jiangning City panic. Although the government tried to conceal the news, as more and more people fled into Jiangning, especially the Eight Banners soldiers who fled to Jiangning from Hangzhou, it became even more troublesome. The common people were worried that the Xinhua army's attack on Jiangning would cause them a catastrophe. In the propaganda of the previous Manchu government, the Xinhua Army was heinous. Once the city is captured, the city will inevitably be slaughtered, and when the time comes, everyone will have to die, not only that, but the wealth of the common people will also be robbed by the Xinhua army, and their wives and daughters will also be insulted by the Xinhua army. Under such circumstances, the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion issued a proclamation to summon the villagers, but fortunately, everyone in Jiangning took up arms to defend Jiangning. In just a few days, the number of people who participated in the township in Jiangning City and the surrounding rural areas reached more than 50,000 people, plus the Anhui Green Battalion and the Eight Banners in Jiangning and Hangzhou, the total strength of Jiangning City has exceeded 100,000. Of course, these hot-blooded young people have not undergone special training, and they just have the enthusiasm and strength to defend their families and the country. They are only equipped with cold weapons, and once they go to the battlefield, it is estimated that they will only become the targets of the slaughter of the Xinhua army.

Niu Jian, the governor of Liangjiang, and Dezhubu, the general of Jiangning, are trying to increase their strength to defend Jiangning. Similarly, the Xinhua army is also pressing forward step by step, determined to take the most important city in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

On March 9, the Xinhua Army shelled Jiangyin, and then a battalion of the 2nd Marine Brigade landed in Jiangyin.

On the afternoon of March 10, the 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Army bombarded Zhenjiang, and then the Marines landed, the prefect of Zhenjiang abandoned the city and fled, and the Xinhua Army captured Zhenjiang. Zhenjiang is only 70 kilometers away from Jiangning. The Xinhua Army was just a stone's throw away, which made the Manchu officials and troops in Jiangning even more worried and frightened.

After taking Zhenjiang, the Xinhua army did not immediately launch an attack on Jiangning, but let the infantry land in Zhenjiang. In addition, the main force of the 2nd Marine Brigade and the 31st Infantry Brigade from Suzhou have only now arrived in Changzhou, which is still more than 60 kilometers away from Zhenjiang.

The 4th Brigade of the Xinhua Army, as well as the newly formed 32nd, 33rd, 34th, and 35th Brigades of the Army, landed in Zhenjiang and then marched overland towards Jiangning. However, the landing of more than 30,000 men from these five brigades took two days. At this time, the main force of the 2nd Marine Brigade and the 31st Infantry Brigade also arrived, which made the strength of the Xinhua Army ashore have reached 7 brigades and more than 40,000 people. In addition, five infantry brigades and one heavy artillery brigade are still on board.

"Ladies and gentlemen, now we are only more than sixty kilometers away from Jiangning. We will leave tomorrow morning and arrive in Jiangning in two days. Jiangning is the most important city in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. According to the information we have received, the Qing army is now mobilizing forces from the vicinity of Jiangning in a vain attempt to hold Jiangning and resist our attack. At the pre-war meeting, Brigadier General Liu Zhongming said to everyone.

"General Liu, let the Qing army gather troops. When they gather all their forces in Jiangning, we can eat them in one bite, so as not to chase everywhere when we have time. Brigadier General Lu Ming, commander of the 4th Brigade, said with a smile.

"General Lu is right, when they all gather in Jiangning, we can solve the problem once and for all." Rear Admiral Wei Yong, commander of the 1st Fleet of the Navy, also said with a smile.

"Haha, yes, that's what I thought too. Therefore, he deliberately stayed in Zhenjiang for two days, in order to give the Qing army enough time to gather troops so that they could be wiped out. I believe that no matter how many troops they gather, they will not try to resist our attack, but will reduce the trouble for our future battles. Brigadier General Liu Zhongming said with a smile. Originally, the main force of the army of the provinces along the Yangtze River had already moved south to the surrounding provinces of Guangdong. Now, the Qing army has once again gathered the remaining forces in Jiangning, which will inevitably cause the emptiness of troops in other regions, and after the Xinhua army has eliminated the Qing army gathered in Jiangning, it will be able to advance westward lightly.

"General Liu, rest assured, we will win the decisive battle in Jiangning this time." The other generals also said one after another. In successive battles, the Qing army retreated without a fight, which made the generals of the Xinhua Army know how weak the combat effectiveness of the Qing army was. They are also full of confidence in the battle of Jiangning.

"Very good, then, tomorrow morning, the army will set off, this battle, if you don't take Jiangning, you will not stop." Brigadier General Liu Zhongming said.

The next day, March 12, the Xinhua army set out from Zhenjiang, advanced by land and water, and attacked Jiangning. Prepare to completely take Jiangning in a battle, sweep away the Qing army along the Yangtze River, and lay a foundation for subsequent operations. (To be continued......)