The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 470 I have a plan to kill the rebel Hong! (Please subscribe and vote)

On the artillery position of the Taiping Army, Winster White held the red turban tightly in his hand, almost squeezing out water, and his eyes were burning with fanatical religious flames, as if he could ignite the air. He was no longer the homeless man who lived on the streets of London and had no sense of existence. Now he was a pious warrior fighting for the second and fourth sons of God, a crusader knight who traveled through time and space! As soon as Yang Xiuqing's order to open fire came, his face twisted instantly, and he shouted at the top of his voice: "Fire!" That sound seemed to shake the entire battlefield.

Fifty-four 9-pound foreign guns had been fully prepared and were waiting in the artillery fort behind the Taiping Army's trench defense line. At this time, as if they had heard a charge horn, they roared almost at the same time, and blazing flames spewed out of the muzzles. The scene was like a group of fire-breathing dragons roaring.

However, these cannons did not aim at the Qing army's artillery formation to suppress it, but pointed their muzzles at the Qing army infantry who had just formed a formation. These poor infantry were less than a thousand meters away from the Taiping army's artillery, and their broken rifles could not reach the Taiping army's artillery at all, but the shells fired by the 9-pound cannon seemed to have eyes, and they could bounce up after landing, forming terrible ricochets, rushing through the Qing army infantry group, and blood and flesh flew everywhere.

In the densely packed ranks of the Qing army, straight "death corridors" appeared in the blink of an eye. Anyone who was in the trajectory of the artillery shells was not spared, and they were all knocked to the ground like wheat being cut. The smell of blood instantly spread in the front line of the Qing army, and the wailing of dying soldiers rose and fell, like a symphony of horror.

Those who were pushed to the front to be cannon fodder were all trained soldiers under Zeng Guofan, Yuan Jiasan, and Du Han. In the Qing army, their status was lower than that of the Han trained soldiers in the Eight Banners New Army. They were definitely "second-class Han" or even "third-class Han". The specific rank depended on how the Green Camp soldiers were ranked. Anyway, they were destined to be cannon fodder. This group of unlucky people from Hunan, Shandong, and Anhui had just foolishly drunk the magic water and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Confucius blesses us, we are invulnerable to swords and guns." But now, the Taiping Army on the opposite side didn't even fire a gun, but fired a few cannons, and they fell down in rows, dying miserably, with blood and flesh all over their bodies. Those who were pierced through the body or had half of their heads cut off by shells probably had no time to regret, but those who were half-dead or not dead yet were not happy, and they immediately went crazy.

"This won't do. Why doesn't Confucius bless us? The Qing Dynasty is doomed..."

"Damn it, this Analects Talisman can't stop the artillery shells at all!"

"We're done with this. With just that little bit of money, why should we be asked to take the bullets for those bannermen?"

Seeing that people’s morale was about to disperse, these “military scholars” in the training team quickly stepped forward to put out the fire.

"Stop arguing! Anyone who dares to disobey military orders will be killed!"

"It's not that Confucius doesn't bless you, it's that you don't study hard. You can only recite a few sentences from the Analects? Have you read the Four Books and Five Classics? You don't know anything, and you still want Confucius to bless you. How can it be that easy?"

"The Emperor said that if we reach Yangzhou, we will let you rob as much as you want... Hold on tight, and shout with me: May Confucius bless us! Defend the Qing and destroy the foreigners! We are invulnerable to swords and guns..."

These training troops were all organized according to the principle that soldiers belong to their generals, relying on the relationships of clans, fellow villagers, students, and classmates. The scholars accompanying the army in each camp had a close relationship with the camp leader, and they were also scholars with special prestige. With their shouting, they also pulled out a few deserters and beheaded them on the spot, which really stabilized the people's hearts temporarily. However, this was only temporary. If these training troops were allowed to continue to endure the bombardment, it would not take long for the morale of the team to completely collapse.

Looking at the Taiping Army, the advanced experience from the 21st century squatting pit warfare came in handy! As soon as the Qing army's "Confucius's blessing" shells fell, the Taiping Army retreated like a group of flexible rabbits and hid in the pits. With trenches and low walls protecting them, it would be difficult to hurt the Taiping Army hiding in the pits, not to mention Confucius's blessing, even if Confucius himself came through to operate the artillery. So as soon as the artillery battle between the two sides began, the Taiping Army had the upper hand. This is the power of advanced tactics!
"Well done! Great fight, hahahaha..." Hong Xiuquan, who was standing on the "armored sedan" watching the battle, was so happy that he almost flew up and danced with joy. He was completely unaware that most people on the battlefield were squatting, and only he and his female soldiers and sedan bearers were still hanging around outside. Especially him, he was standing on a super conspicuous armored sedan carried by sixty-four people. This target was brighter than a lighthouse in the dark.

On the other side, Xianfeng, who was standing on the watchtower to command, was almost twitching. Aren't those Taiping soldiers too cunning? When did they dig a trench behind them to hide from shells? When the guns are fired later, won't they also hide in the trench and lean against the short earth wall? If so, it will be difficult for the Qing soldiers to break through. Could it be that the combined power of the Orthodox God, Confucius, the Three Pure Ones, and the Buddha is still not enough to defeat the Heavenly Father of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? When Xianfeng thought of this, he turned his head with a pockmarked face and looked at the few charlatans behind him. His face became colder and colder, so cold that it could freeze people to death.

"Your Majesty, I have a plan to defeat the rebellion!" Just as Emperor Xianfeng's face was getting more and more frightening, someone suddenly spoke up. Xianfeng looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was the foreign lama Tupolev. The foreign lama had been hiding in a corner, looking around with a telescope, observing the situation on the battlefield. Now he seemed to have discovered some opportunity. "Tell me quickly!" Xianfeng asked immediately.

Tupolev took a few steps forward, came to Xianfeng, raised his hand and pointed at the lonely sedan chair on the battlefield in the distance: "Your Majesty, look... that is Hong Xiuquan's sedan chair. If we can pull the artillery group over, even if we concentrate 10 or 20 artillery pieces, it is very likely that Hong Xiuquan will be killed! Even if we can't kill him, as long as we blow up that conspicuous sedan chair, we can also make the enemy a mess. As long as they are in chaos, we can use our superior forces to attack the position where Hong is again! As long as Hong is dead, the Qing Dynasty can win this war!"

"Okay!" Xianfeng's eyes lit up, thinking that Tupolev's idea was good, but he immediately frowned again, "But Hong Ni is not stupid, how could he watch us pull the cannons over?"

Tupolev chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, we can deploy it like this..."

"Boom boom boom..." The dull sound of war drums came from behind Jin Aduo and Zhao Sanduo like thunder, and at the same time, a messenger holding a flag ran over. Jin Aduo took the military ticket handed over by the messenger, read it carefully, shouted "Got the order" at the top of his voice, and then ran to the front of the first row of the team like a gust of wind, drew his sword, pointed forward, and shouted: "All battalions... forward!"

He was accompanied by two "Suona soldiers". At his command, the harsh and rhythmic sound of the Suona sounded immediately. In the first row of the Eight Banners New Army commanded by Jin Aduo, there was a tall flag bearer holding a yellow-rimmed military flag. When the flag bearer saw Jin Aduo drawing his sword and moving forward, he also tilted the military flag forward and then strode forward.

Because Zhao Sanduo was replacing a young soldier from the Eight Banners, he was now standing in the last row. When he saw his brothers in front of him marching forward in unison, he hurried to follow.

Along with the battalion commanded by Jin Aduo, there were eleven other battalions, including five Eight Banners New Army Battalions and six Training Army Battalions! In this wave of attack, there were twelve battalions, a total of six thousand people! These six thousand Qing soldiers were divided into two routes, each with six battalions in a horizontal formation, with the Training Army in front and the Banner Army in the back, pressing towards the left and right wings of the Taiping Army respectively.

At the same time, the Qing army's artillery deployed in the middle also opened fire, throwing shells at the Taiping Army wave after wave. The other ten battalions of Qing army infantry formed a battle array behind the artillery position. The Mongolian cavalry under Senggelinqin also went out in full force, forming ten battalions of cavalry formations on both sides of the Qing army's battle line. All the cavalry held lances or scimitars, and the tips of the lances and blades flashed coldly in the winter sun, which made people shudder.

As the Qing army launched the first wave of offensive, Hong Xiuquan, who was behind the left wing of the Taiping Army, remained calm. In front of him were the trenches and defenders of the Taiping Army, on his left was the canal, which the Qing army could not pass through, and on his right was the militiamen and civilians who were sweating profusely digging the second trench, so he was very safe.

Shells kept exploding above the Qing army, but they continued to press forward at a steady pace. Hong Xiuquan tightly grasped the golden hoop stick, his knuckles turning white, but his hands could not help but tremble slightly.

The Qing army today is completely different from what we encountered in Hengshan County two years ago. It seems to be much stronger and can even advance steadily under the fierce bombardment of the Taiping Army's artillery!

"Crackle, crackle." Suddenly, the dense sound of gunfire like frying beans suddenly rang out. It was the Taiping Army soldiers hiding in the trenches who opened fire decisively! The foreign guns in their hands had been modified with rifles, and the Minié bullets they fired were accurate and fierce. Although they were still fifty or sixty steps away from the Qing army, they were like sharp sickles, ruthlessly cutting down the Qing army in the front row, and the blood instantly dyed the land red.

Seeing this, the Qing army immediately stopped and started shooting. The military flags quickly turned from being raised high to being lowered, and in an instant, bullets rained down like a torrential rain on the trenches of the Taiping Army. The bullets splashed layers of dust around the trenches. Although only a few Taiping soldiers were hit, the smoke from the muskets and cannons of both sides had quickly spread across the battlefield, and the pungent smell of gunpowder was suffocating.

As the visibility on the battlefield dropped sharply, everything became blurry and unclear. Life and death were only a matter of moments. Every moment made people nervous, not knowing what fatal danger would come in the next moment.
(End of this chapter)