Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

"Lord Li, I believe that we can wait until the main force of the Taiping rebels launches an attack on Baling before launching a counterattack."

For us, the chances of retaliating are few and far between. In fact, this might be our only chance.

Once we launch a large-scale counterattack at night, the Taiping rebels will definitely be on guard.

Therefore, we must seize this opportunity and maximize its potential!

Zeng Guoquan clearly wanted to seize the opportunity and maximize the results as much as possible.

Li Xuyi nodded repeatedly; naturally, he had no objections.

His only goal was to defeat the Taiping rebels and avenge his brother Li Xubin.

"Ninth Commander, besides us, we can definitely bring in the navy as well. We've suffered considerable losses in this phase of the Taiping Rebellion's attack. It will be extremely difficult for us to inflict serious damage on them with our own strength alone."

If the navy joins in, they could easily reach Baling from Dongting Lake. They could even appear behind the Taiping rebels undetected and cut off their retreat.

At that time, we might have the opportunity to deal a heavy blow to the Taiping Rebellion.

If all goes well, perhaps we can even launch a counterattack on Hubei Province and drive the Taiping rebels out!

Li Xuyi continued to offer his suggestions.

Zeng Guoquan's eyes lit up, as if he strongly agreed with this view.

The Qing army suffered another defeat in Henan Province, losing several prefectures. If the Xiang Army could inflict heavy losses on the Taiping Army in Hunan Province, or even launch a counterattack in Hubei Province and drive the Taiping Army out of Hubei, the situation would be much better.

Therefore, this undoubtedly proved the strength of the Xiang Army to the whole world.

The Hunan Army will inevitably receive more support and will grow even stronger.

"That's a great idea! I'll send someone to contact the navy right away. I'm sure they won't let this opportunity slip by," Zeng Guoquan said.

Zeng Guoquan then wrote to Peng Yulin and Yang Yuebin, commanders of the Xiang Army's navy, expressing his hope that the navy could join the counterattack.

Peng Yulin and Yang Yuebin naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity.

Defeating the Taiping Army would be a great achievement.

Promotion and advancement are just around the corner.

Moreover, the Taiping Army was already a major enemy of the Xiang Army. If they couldn't defeat the Taiping Army, then when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was fully prepared and launched a large-scale attack, it would likely be the end for the Xiang Army.

Both Peng Yulin and Yang Yuebin stated that they would go all out in the upcoming battle to defeat the Taiping Army in one fell swoop.

Zeng Bohan, the leader of the Xiang Army stationed in Changsha Prefecture, also received a report from Zeng Guoquan.

After careful consideration, Zeng Bohan agreed to Zeng Guoquan's counterattack plan.

In Zeng Bohan's view, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was powerful. Moreover, the Taiping army was becoming increasingly stronger.

If the Xiang Army cannot defeat the Taiping Army this time, it will be difficult for them to achieve anything further.

Only by defeating and severely damaging the Taiping Army in this battle can the Xiang Army gain more support and achieve significant development.

This would make it possible for the Xiang Army to have the potential to engage in a decisive battle with the Taiping Army in the future.

Zeng Bohan instructed Zeng Guoquan and Li Xuyi to go all out and ensure victory in this battle. At the same time, Zeng Bohan also personally wrote to Peng Yulin and Yang Yuebin, requesting that the navy devote all its efforts to this counterattack and strive for victory.

In order to completely defeat the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Xiang Army went all out in this battle.

On October 4, 1857, the 1st Infantry Division of the Taiping Army's Imperial Guard Corps assembled two infantry regiments, along with the division's cavalry and artillery battalions, to launch an attack on Baling, the capital city of Yuezhou Prefecture.

Although the Xiang Army in Baling City numbered more than 10,000, the Imperial Guard Corps was completely outnumbered.

However, faced with the attack of the Imperial Guard, the Xiang Army could only defend the city to the death.

Even so, they found it difficult to withstand the attack of the Royal Guard.

"Boom! Boom!"

The Imperial Guard Corps deployed a large number of field artillery, mountain guns, and mortars to fire on Baling.

Whether on the city walls or inside the city, both were targets for the Imperial Guard's artillery fire.

Under the fierce firepower of the Imperial Guard, the defending Hunan Army suffered heavy losses.

Especially after the heavy machine guns and rifles of the Imperial Guards joined the attack, the Hunan Army was completely suppressed and unable to raise its head.

Even though the Xiang Army was equipped with many muskets, they were still firing from their elevated positions on the city walls.

However, in the exchange of fire, the Hunan Army still couldn't gain any advantage and was actually at a disadvantage.

This made Zeng Guoquan, who was watching the game, look very unpleasant.

He was well aware that the gap between the Xiang Army and the Taiping Army in terms of firearms was far too great.

If there are no other options, this gap will only widen.

At that point, the Hunan Army would probably have even less chance of turning the tide.

"boom!"

With a loud explosion, the Royal Guard corps blew down the walls of Baling.

Although this was a common tactic used by the Imperial Guards, and the Xiang Army was well aware of it, the problem was that they were completely unable to counter this tactic of the Taiping Army.

The towering city walls were originally built to defend against cold weapons. And they certainly played a vital role over the past few thousand years.

However, when faced with firearms, these walls become extremely ineffective.

After the city walls of Baling were blown up, the various units of the Imperial Guard Corps stormed into the city through the breach and fought fiercely with the Xiang Army.

However, even though Baling City had been captured by the Taiping Army, the Xiang Army did not collapse and continued to resist fiercely.

The Hunan Army stationed in Baling was the elite of the Hunan Army, so it is not difficult to understand why they would behave this way.

After a day of fierce fighting, the Imperial Guard had taken control of a good portion of Baling City.

After nightfall, the Royal Guard ceased its attack.

Furthermore, only one infantry regiment was left inside the city for defense. Another infantry regiment withdrew outside the city to form a defensive line. At the same time, the division's cavalry battalion, artillery battalion, engineer battalion, and supply battalion were all left to garrison outside the city.

In order to guard against attacks from the Hunan Army, the Imperial Guard Corps also paid special attention to the construction of defensive fortifications.

This aspect was already emphasized in the basic training of the troops under the Guards Corps.

Even if there is no time to build camps, the various units of the Guards Legion can dig trenches, put up barbed wire, and even lay landmines.

The Hunan Army was completely unaware of this.

"Send someone to contact the cavalry and navy. Now it's up to them!" Zeng Guoquan gave the order.

"Yes, Ninth Commander!" The personal guard immediately went to relay the order.

In Dongting Lake, a large number of Xiang Army naval warships have gathered in the waters near Baling City.

Upon receiving Zeng Guoquan's report, the Xiang Army's navy immediately sprang into action.

A large number of warships sailed along the waterway toward the Yangtze River.

They were to land behind the Taiping army's lines and block their retreat.

Meanwhile, the six thousand Xiang Army cavalry led by Li Xuyi also assembled south of Baling City.

Upon receiving Zeng Guoquan's orders, these Xiang Army cavalrymen also sprang into action.

October 5th, 10 AM, a dark and windy night.

Although it wasn't pitch black, visibility was very low.

The Xiang Army cavalry cautiously advanced to within two kilometers of the main force of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard.

For cavalry, this distance was not considered far.

If the warhorses charge quickly, they can arrive in just a few minutes.

If we get any closer, we'll be very easy for the Taiping army to spot us.

Therefore, Li Xuyi did not intend to get any closer.

"Everyone be silent. Get ready. We will charge in fifteen minutes. This time, we must crush the Taiping rebels and avenge our fallen brothers!" Li Xuyi commanded.

No one answered, but their eyes were all incredibly firm.

This shows that almost all the Xiang Army soldiers regarded the Taiping Army as the enemy.

A quarter of an hour later, the Xiang Army cavalrymen mounted their horses and began to charge towards the Taiping Army's Imperial Guards.

At the same time, the Xiang Army's naval forces also arrived at their destination.

A large number of warships docked, and one by one, Hunan Army sailors landed ashore, ready to engage in combat.