The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 404: The Starry Sky is Brilliant
September 1778, 9, the second year of the Guangzhong reign of the Yu Dynasty, the fourth day of the seventh month of the forty-third year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty.

Just when Chen Guangzu and others had basically controlled the outer city of Nanjing, Mo Zibu, after a brief rest, began to lead his army upstream to Nanjing.

There was one thing that Jiangning Deputy Governor Cheng De calculated correctly, that is, Mo Zibu did not have many soldiers. During the Northern Expedition, Mo Zibu had only 70,000 soldiers in total.

Among them, 10,000 people were given to Chen Guangyao, who was asked to lead the heroes and children of wealthy families in northern Guangdong to attack Hunan from the Meiling Ancient Road with the support of the Tiandihui members in southern Hunan.

Five thousand men were also sent to Yin Chengfang and Ye Xianchun in western Fujian and southeastern Jiangxi to assist them in capturing southern Jiangxi and then heading north to threaten Nanchang and Jiujiang.

Six thousand people went to Chen Lian and Zheng Qing in Fuzhou, otherwise the militia from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou alone would not have been able to take down Fuzhou.

Finally, there is Zhejiang, which is led by Rear Admiral Manuel Bonn and Brigadier General Zhou Yuanquan, and also mobilized about 10,000 people.

Therefore, the total number of troops that Mo Zibu could command was about 39,000.

In addition, some troops must be deployed to garrison Songjiang Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, Tongzhou Prefecture and other places.

In the end, only 31,000 to 32,000 people followed Mo Zibu to Jiangyin.

This shows that as long as China maintains internal order, no foreign forces will be able to undermine this dynasty.

This further illustrates that it is indeed impossible to rebel in a prosperous era.

If it weren't for the Manchu Qing Dynasty, a foreign race that was practicing semi-colonial and semi-feudal rule at that time, Mo Zibu would have had no chance of success if it were any other Han dynasty.

Only at this time was the Qing Dynasty. They implemented the policy of shaving hair and changing clothes, launched a literary inquisition, and made tens of millions of Han people support hundreds of thousands of bannermen. There seemed to be no contradiction, but in fact it was irreconcilable.

In addition, the natural aversion of the Han people to foreign rule helped Mo Zibu a lot.

As soon as he came to the north to fight, the entire Zhejiang Province and the three prefectures of Songjiang, Suzhou and Tongzhou were basically taken over without much fighting. At least, the Xing Tang Army did not need to take action.

Of course, when setting out from Jiangyin, Mo Zibu had more than 31,000 or 32,000 men, but a full 40,000 men.

Among them, two thousand were Lan Yuanmei's Green Camp soldiers from Susong Town, and six thousand were Yu Jinao's Admiral Green Camp soldiers.

In addition to them, there were more than 10,000 excited Jiangyin people who followed Mo Zibu westward. For a time, the fleets in the river were connected end to end, and flags were waving on the shore.

On the eighth day of July, the army arrived in Zhenjiang. The Zhenjiang prefect and the entire city knelt to welcome the royal army. Mo Zibu then stayed in Zhenjiang for another day, waiting for the volunteers from Songjiang, Suzhou, and Changzhou.

On the tenth day of the seventh month, Mo Zibu arrived at Lion Mountain north of Nanjing, followed by volunteers from Jiaxing and Huzhou in Zhejiang.

At this point, in addition to 40,000 combat soldiers, Mo Zibu also had 6,000 volunteers, 130,000 civilian laborers, and countless gunpowder, lead bullets, grain, vegetables, and even live pigs, chickens, cattle, sheep, and fresh fish.

Jiangning City is full of people, outside Xihua Gate, and Xuanjin Bridge.

In a day with a temperature of over 30 degrees, Cheng De was still wearing a red cotton armor. He personally led 700 elite soldiers to launch a third attack on Xuanjin Bridge where Chen Guangzu was stationed.

Chen Guangzu deceived Hao Chun and Cheng De for seven days, but they still saw through his true intentions.

As expected of a brave general who emerged from the pile of dead bodies in Jinchuan, Niu Hulu Chengde has extremely rich experience in battles involving hundreds or thousands of people.

"Boom!" A nine-section cannon fired a flash of light, and a shell slightly larger than a fist whistled towards them.

"Scatter quickly!" Chen Guangzu roared, and the fortifications made of wooden boards, quilts and loess bags shook violently, dust flew everywhere, and it looked miserable, but they still held up.

It was just that a Green Camp soldier who was acting as a laborer ran a little slower and failed to leave here in time. He was shocked by the huge impact and his mouth and nose were bleeding, and he collapsed to the ground.

Chen Guangzu ordered his men to drag the laborer away, praying that his internal organs were not displaced by the shock, otherwise even a god would be unable to save him.

Boom! Another cannonball fired, this time a little higher. The shell grazed the top of the fortifications, and the violent friction caused the air to emit a humming sound.

"Oh!" Cheng De sighed angrily. He was about to order the gunner to continue reloading when he suddenly heard a few clear bangs from the opposite side.

In the flickering fire, three lead bullets shot over. A Qing gunner who was busy loading the gun screamed and fell limply on the nine-section gun.

The remaining gunners quickly crawled back.

Cheng De's face was gloomy. He picked up an arrow and stared at the opposite side like a hawk. Those southern bandits had a kind of musket with a very long range and high accuracy, which was very difficult to deal with.

"Bang!" The bowstring vibrated, and Cheng De opened and closed his hands. An arrow trembled rapidly and drew a perfect parabola like a meteor.

"Ah!" A Xing Tang Army sharpshooter, who had just raised his head, screamed and fell backwards.

"The commander-in-chief's sharpshooter!"

"As expected of our bannerman's best archer!"

The surrounding Eight Banners soldiers cheered, but Cheng De was not happy.

Because he had already seen that the soldiers on the opposite side who had very accurate shooting skills were not particularly elite. They were definitely not one in ten thousand, or even one in a hundred.

Because they often have to rely on firing three guns at once to ensure accuracy, unlike Cheng De who has quick eyes and hands and can almost hit the target with just one shot.

However, Cheng De rubbed his sore arms. First of all, archery, especially with a strong bow that weighs 1.34 stone, is an extremely strenuous task.

Secondly, a sharpshooter like him has to practice since childhood. He shoots rabbits at the age of five, shoots roe deer and muntjacs at the age of ten, and follows his father to shoot wild boars at the age of fifteen. When he grows up, he has to go to the battlefield to train.

Even with this kind of training, it is rare to find a sharpshooter among a hundred people.

But the sharpshooter on the opposite side can be selected from dozens of people. As long as there is gunpowder, he can fire at least twenty rounds before the musket is overwhelmed, but he can fire again after a rest.

Considering the huge base of Han people, it is really chilling.

The times have really changed, and Cheng De is quite depressed.

However, although he was depressed, he did not stop commanding the battle. After three or four sharpshooters like him suppressed the sharpshooters on the opposite side, three or four young men from the Eight Banners pushed a prepared shield cart and quickly went to the opposite side across the Xuanjin Bridge.

Behind these three strong men, there is a strong man wearing heavy armor and holding a big knife. As soon as he gets close, he will climb over the fortifications of the Xingtang army with the help of the strong men and then kill them indiscriminately.

At this moment, several sacks were suddenly unloaded from one of the Xingtang Army's fortifications, and then a black cannon barrel appeared in the gap. Although Chen Guangzu and his men were advancing lightly, they still had three three-pound cannons and nine eight-pound mortars, which was how they had initially intimidated Hao Chun and Cheng De in the city.

With a bang, a burst of fire came out of the three-pound cannon, and the huge projectile hit the shield car accurately.

In an instant, the shield cart, which weighed only about 100 pounds, was knocked into the air. Several young men of the banner who were pushing the shield cart screamed and fell all over the bridge.

"Go!" Cheng De shouted at the right time, and rows of bannermen archers appeared. They fired intensively and aimlessly, trying to prevent the Xing Tang army's musketeers from showing their heads and firing.

The burly man who had been hiding behind the shield car also roared wildly. Despite his huge body, he was surprisingly fast.

"Kill!" Sixty elite soldiers from the Eight Banners shouted and charged from Xuanjin Bridge.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The soldiers of the Xing Tang army raised their guns and fired back. No matter how much they risked being hit by arrows, they stood up and fired back.

The elite soldiers of the Eight Banners fell to the ground one after another, and a large number of Xing Tang Army soldiers also fell behind the fortifications with screams.

Several flowers of blood burst out of the strong man's chest, but he seemed to be fine. He continued to charge forward even with blood pouring out, and soon reached the fortifications.

Several selected strikers lifted up the burly man in heavy armor and climbed over the fortifications with a thud.

After the strong man turned over, he did not start killing directly, but roared and rushed towards the three-pound cannon. He charged like a bull and directly knocked away the gunners near the three-pound cannon.

Then he shouted loudly, grabbed the gun carriage, and actually lifted the three-pound gun weighing more than 300 pounds to the side and overturned it to the ground.

After the three-pound cannon was opened, the gap where the cannon was fired just now appeared. The strong man quickly pulled out a few large sacks again, opening up a path for the Qing army to attack.

"Bang, bang, bang!" The soldiers of the Xing Tang Army opened fire one after another, making the strong man's back look like a honeycomb. He trembled, and after more than ten breaths, he finally slowly went limp.

But thanks to the gap he opened, the elite soldiers of the Eight Banners, armed with spears and swords and wearing cotton armor, rushed in like a flood.

The soldiers of the Xing Tang Army also rushed forward with howls, but at this point in the fight, they could not defeat the cotton armor and long spears with just a single layer of clothing and a bayonet.

Countless soldiers fought to the death, trying to plug the gap, but they were forced to retreat.

"Charge in, charge in!" Cheng De also shouted happily, "All troops, attack! We must capture Xuanjin Bridge and kill all these southern bandit vanguards!"

Chen Guangzu stared fiercely at the growing gap. He knew that after three days of testing, the Qing Dynasty had basically figured out his routine, and now was the final moment.

"Big fat elephant!" Chen Guangzu howled.

He also has a special weapon, which is the fat elephant that is a natural artilleryman and can replace three or five people outside the town of Thanh Hoa.

Seeing that it was finally his turn, the fat elephant shouted with joy, wearing a suit of plate armor made of a whole piece of steel plate and holding a copper stick, and pounced forward.

The elite soldiers of the Qing army were killing people indiscriminately when suddenly a loud roar was heard. A big fat elephant rushed over and knocked down three elite soldiers at once. Then it swung the copper stick like a windmill, hitting each kid with one stick.

The fat elephant got more and more adept at hitting. He didn't hit other places, but relied on his height to raise the copper stick high and hit it directly down. With one hit, the iron helmet of the selected warrior was deeply dented, and blood flowed down his head.

With the help of the powerful humanoid tank, the Fat Elephant, blocking the front, the Xing Tang Army soldiers behind regained their composure. They quickly reloaded and kept firing, and actually drove out the Qing army that had broken in.

Cheng De was very anxious. He ran forward a few steps quickly, not caring about the pain in his arms. He aimed at the face of the fat elephant and shot four arrows quickly.

The big fat elephant screamed and almost couldn't hold the copper stick because an arrow had hit his forehead. Although it was blocked by the helmet, it still penetrated deep into the flesh.

"Retreat, retreat to the second line of defense!" Chen Guangzu looked and found that several Eight Banners musketeers were carrying a heavy smoothbore rifle. He quickly gave orders to the soldiers to retreat.

However, the Qing army was extremely tenacious and cunning. They took advantage of the Xingtang army blocking the gap and turned over from all directions. With more than 700 people against Chen Guangzu's 200 people, the advantage was still very obvious.

At this moment, the Xing Tang army soldiers who were about to retreat were directly entangled. Even the fat elephant with an arrow stuck in its forehead was trapped in the encirclement and could only fight desperately.

Fortunately, his plate armor was very sturdy. Although many people surrounded and stabbed him, he did not suffer much injury. Only the severe pain in his head affected his combat effectiveness.

Chen Guangzu also went to the front line in person. He led his reserve soldiers to charge three times, but still could not completely break away from the Qing army.

Cheng De also came to the front line carrying a big gun, with a hundred musketeers behind him. As long as these musketeers reached a distance of sixty or seventy meters, the Xing Tang army would not only be unable to break away from contact, but would also suffer heavy casualties and even be defeated in one wave.

However, at this most dangerous moment, a thunderous cheer rang out, and it sounded like at least tens of thousands of people were cheering, followed by bursts of drums and music, which came through the smoke of the battlefield.

Cheng De jumped onto a fortification and looked up. He felt as if struck by lightning and couldn't help but howl in pain.

He saw a yellow umbrella covered with countless flags approaching quickly on the wide road behind Xuanjin Bridge.

Hao Chun on the top of the city wall also saw it. He frantically ordered his men to ring the retreat signal, calling on the two thousand Eight Banners soldiers fighting outside to return to the city.

The Qing army was in great sorrow, while the Xing Tang army was cheering so loudly that it seemed to break through the sky.

"Long live! Long live! Long live!" The soldiers' cheers rang out everywhere, and even many Nanjing citizens watched secretly from the gaps in fear.

Then they saw a scene that shocked them immensely: countless generals wearing golden helmets and armor of the Han Dynasty, soldiers wearing mandarin duck battle jackets and vermilion lacquered helmets with the word "Yong" on them, appeared in Nanjing City like a flood.

On the two longest sides of the scroll, it was clearly written:

"The stars are shining, and the sky is full of stars!"

'The sun and the moon are shining, and the motherland is bright! '

"These are soldiers from the Ming Dynasty. Could it be that Emperor Hongwu sent them down to earth?" Immediately, a knowledgeable scholar shouted.

As the birthplace of Zhu Yuanzhang and one of the only two cities with extremely high status in the Ming Dynasty, many people in Nanjing still remember the former Han Dynasty.

Originally, when Chen Guangzu and his men came, the people of Nanjing did not believe that they were the army of the Ming Dynasty because they were mixed with a large number of Green Camp soldiers.

But now it seems to be so authentic that it cannot be more authentic. Many people couldn't help but burst into tears when they saw the sixteen words on the long pan.

As the shouts of "Great Ming Dynasty" and "Hongwu Emperor" continued, the people gradually let down their guard and began to try to open their doors, coming out to watch the army entering the city and the yellow umbrella in the distance from afar.

(End of this chapter)