The Huguang Green Camp did not know that Li Laiheng was on his way to the battlefield. Now there were few people on Governor Hu’s list of praise. Instead, the blacklist was so long that it could not be written on a piece of paper. Now it almost included all civil officials, generals and staff involved in the dispatch of troops.

Seeing that the morale of the army was so deteriorating, Hu Quancai was actually not optimistic about the prospects of the war, but he was now in a difficult situation: after more than 20,000 Ming troops entered Hu Quancai's territory, they wiped out Hu Quancai's city and expanded his army to more than 50,000. The armored soldiers grew from about 6,000 at the beginning to about 20,000 now, and captured half of Hubei. The recent series of disputes have brought the relationship between Hu Quancai and the gentry and soldiers of Huguang to freezing point, and now they can suppress their subordinates, which is all due to the power of the Beijing Manting.

Now Hu Quancai is sitting on the crater, and a copy of Sun Tzu's Art of War was almost ruined by Governor Hu. He said that he could not find a way to restore the morale and morale in the book, and annihilate the Ming army in Hubei in one go. On the contrary, no matter how he looked at the Soldiers, he said that if the enemy is in the current state of the Green Camp in Huguang, he would hurry up and fight without hesitation - it can be seen that Soldiers are not omnipotent.

Hu Quancai now settled for the second best, hoping to at least drive the Ming army back to his hometown. The recent military operation was already serving this purpose. Hu Quancai was afraid that the other party would seize his flaws and launch another attack, so he did not seek merit every day, but did not seek any mistakes, and slowly rolled forward towards Zhong Xiang. The generals of the Qing army also guessed Hu Quancai's intentions. They were also unwilling to take risks and fight, so they walked forward one battalion and one battalion. Every day, most of the Qing army's troops were in a defensive state, and did not give the Ming army any chance to attack.

However, the other party had already seized many, but he refused to leave honestly. Governor Hu weighed the pros and cons, thinking that the other party should also be very clear that they could not rely on their existing strength to occupy the two lakes. No matter how slow the court's efficiency was, they would send reinforcements from Henan sooner or later.

"Do you have to force me to death?" Hu Quancai was so angry that he could not calm down. He could only send reinforcements from Henan and Ganzhou to drive away the Ming army. This was completely different from relying on Huguang's own strength to recover Hubei: "Why don't you leave honestly and hurry up?"

Hu Quancai reviewed Sun Tzu's Art of War again, and he felt that he was indeed dead, otherwise he would not have been determined to act irresponsible regardless of the situation.

The word "dead place..." triggered Hu Quancai's inspiration: "Dead place will fight!"

There was no one else in the tent, and Hu Quancai followed the inspiration that had just appeared and thought: "How can we lead the entire army into the death ground and force them to fight the thieves to the death?"

...

Zhong Xiang.

"Have Hu Quancai ever been to the battlefield?" Zhong Xiang and Ming army had already contacted Li Laiheng. Knowing that friendly troops were coming at full speed, the Qing army had no intention of retreating. Seeing that an unprecedented war was inevitable, Deng Ming was a little nervous and asked about the situation of the other coach.

Liu Tichun, Hao Yaoqi and others shook their heads one after another. Although Hu Quancai had been in the army for a long time, his main job in Gansu and Shaanxi was to recruit surrender and rebel, and later helped Wu Sangui raise food and grass. After arriving in Huguang, he served as the governor of Yunyang under Hong Chengchou, and was responsible for defending Hao Yaoqi, He Zhen and others. However, his work was still to control local generals, and he always stayed in the rear to supervise food and grass.

Hao Yaoqi told Deng Ming that he had never heard of Hu Quancai on the front line in person. When Hu Quancai was guarding Yunyang, the main focus of the Ming army in Kuidong was on how to break through the Yiling River defense. Hao Yaoqi, who had no support from friendly forces, kept avoiding the real and attacking the virtual during that period, and had never attacked Yunyang with 20,000 Qing troops.

"Hu Quancai has never commanded a battle of more than 10,000 people before. Not to mention field battles, there is no battle in the city," Deng Ming glanced at the generals around him. The four generals of Kuidong were all experienced and even he himself rushed on the battlefield many times: "There were 20,000 troops in Yunyang at the beginning, which was the most troops Hu Quancai had commanded. This battle was the first battle since he became the governor of Huguang. I was right?"

Everyone said that Deng Ming was right.

Deng Ming sighed softly. The Hunan Army was very famous in his original world, but now the Qing army in Huguang is indeed a second-rate army under the Qing court. The gentry of Huguang is far less devoted to the Qing court than the northern scholars. Their conflicting psychology greatly affected the combat effectiveness of Huguang Green Camp. A second-rate army, commanded by a commander who only had experience in coordinating in the rear, is still on the verge of morale disintegration. Deng Ming felt that there should be no suspense to end the war in Huguang.

"I don't know how Zheng Chenggong is going." Deng Ming remembered that Wen Anzhi said that Zheng Chenggong might launch an offensive around July. The delay in Huguang this time was much longer than Deng Ming had expected at first. However, he could not leave until the war was over, otherwise it might leave the Ming army with the impression of escaping at the last battle: "We must fight quickly." Deng Ming secretly made up his mind.

...

At this time on Chongming Island, after seeing Zheng Chenggong leaving only the surveillance troops and leading the army into the Yangtze River, Liang Huafeng immediately ordered the artillery on the ship to be removed, mobilized the entire army to strengthen the artillery and stockpile supplies and ammunition.

Zheng Chenggong's navy was much stronger than Susong navy. Liang Huafeng felt that even the preparation of the navy was useless. He went out to fight the Ming army on the river and hit the stone with eggs. Therefore, Liang Huafeng decided to use all his strength to strengthen the fortifications. As long as the Ming army gave him ten days, when the fortifications were reinforced and improved, Chongming Island would no longer be slaughtered.

While strengthening defense, Liang Huafeng was still trying hard to boost morale. The Qing army has not recovered from the initial horror. It also takes some time to restore the soldiers. At the same time, Liang Huafeng also hopes that Zheng Chenggong can suffer two defeats from the Qing army upstream, even if it is a slight setback, so that the Qing army on Chongming Island can be excited.

As for the nearby Ming army surveillance forces, Liang Huafeng still maintained communication with them. He first described the removal of cannons from the navy as a friendly act, and secondly notified these Ming army that he wanted to purchase food and grass for the defenders from both sides of the strait. After Liang Huafeng finished informing him, he sent unarmed ships out of the island to buy vegetables and food, and secretly collected gunpowder and weapons to further strengthen the defense capabilities of Chongming Island.

Compared to Liang Huafeng, who had endless small movements, Wusong Admiral Ma Fengzhi was much more honest. After seeing the strength of the Ming army, he felt that the Qing court's rule in the southeast was probably about to end. Since he agreed to Zheng Chenggong's request, he has been staying honestly in the military camp without trying to contact the surrounding Qing army local officials.

His generals and staff were anxious about Ma Fengzhi's inaction. A anxious aide shouted to Ma Dama Ma: "If the Ma Dama wants to be loyal to the court, then he must try to leave this dangerous place. Now Zheng Ni's main force has gone downstream, leaving only a small number of people to monitor us. We suddenly head to Zhejiang, and this few people cannot stop us. If the Ma Dama Dama wants to do anything, then don't hesitate anymore. He immediately sent troops to meet the Prince of Yanping and went straight to Nanjing on the water and land. Even if he redeems his sins, he must strive to make great contributions. In this way, the Ma Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama

But Ma Fengzhi still refused to make a decision. He pointed out that if the troops were sent at this time, Zheng Chenggong would inevitably be used as a vanguard to fight against the resisting Qing troops: "The Prince of Yanping has agreed and agreed to me to stop moving. Why should I take the initiative to deliver them to my door? This will damage my troops?"

Ma Fengzhi looked around the surrounding generals and asked, "Many of you advised me to make up your mind as soon as possible. Who would you be willing to play the striker?"

All his subordinates were speechless, and the aide still did not give up and asked: "Even if the general does not move his troops, can he tolerate the generals not moving after Yanping captured Nanjing?"

"You don't understand this. If Yanping directly takes Nanjing, the Qing court will inevitably mobilize all the elite soldiers and generals around to Nanjing to resist. This battle will definitely be difficult. If we go to Yanping now, we will have to be sent forward to fight to the death with these powerful troops. Therefore, Yanping will take Nanjing by himself and destroy all the elite Qing troops. At that time, the defenders in Jiangxi, Zhejiang and other places will inevitably be frightened and have no backbone. The next battle will be easy to fight." Ma Fengzhi's words made the aides realize that it was not that Ma Dama did not have a decision, but that he thought farther than himself.

Ma Fengzhi continued: "Nanjing has fought hard, and Yanping also needs to correct its troops. We will definitely let us sweep the surroundings. At that time, we can fight alone, and the territory we captured can also belong to us. Isn't it much stronger than sending troops now? Now that we have only fought all our troops, we may be annexed by Yanping. And even if we make great contributions to Nanjing, will Yanping still promise Nanjing to us?"

Seeing that Ma Dama said so thoroughly, everyone was excited and felt that the good days of separatist rule were near to him. Someone immediately said, "Master, if we want to send troops in the future, we must go to Zhejiang and Jiangxi, and we can't cross the river to attack Yangzhou."

"Do I still know this?" Ma Fengzhi smiled. After Zheng successfully seized Nanjing and isolated the north and south, the Qing court would definitely go south with all his might and try to reopen the canal and transportation. Whoever is in the north will be the first to be affected.

After seeing Zheng Chenggong's military appearance, Ma Fengzhi suddenly developed some ambitions while frightened. In the past two days, he said to himself more than once: "Zheng Chenggong can organize such an army by just gathering lessons on the coast of Fujian. If I could seize Zhejiang and manage it well when the Qing court and Zheng Chenggong fought hard, who would dare to say that I could not become a prince or even compete with the heroes in the world?"

...

When Ma Fengzhi and Liang Huafeng were each making their own small plans, Zheng Chenggong's vanguard had already arrived in Guazhou. The Qing army guard here was the guerrilla Yu Yunlong. He was different from Ma Fengzhi and Liang Huafeng. He flatly refused Zheng Chenggong's persuasion to surrender and prepared to resist.

After learning that the thousands of Qing troops in Guazhou City refused to surrender, Zheng Chenggong laughed: "I really don't know how to stop the chariot by the mantis arm, but it's good that I just took them to sacrifice the flag and gave Ma Fengzhi, Liang Huafeng and the others to see the military power of this vassal."

After a brief pause, Zheng Chenggong ordered the Central Governor Gan Hui to say: "Lead the Iron Man Army to fight!"

Zhang Huangyan was still in Zheng Chenggong's army at this time. After hearing this order, he shouted: "Wait, the Iron Man Army is the king's personal army. Why use a ox knife to kill chickens? If the king's subordinates are inconvenient, I will fight Guazhou."

Zheng Chenggong selected burly and majestic elite soldiers to form the Iron Man Army. Each soldier had a set of iron armor. After seeing this, Zhang Huangyan praised him and believed that it would play a decisive role in the battlefield. Since Zheng Chenggong designed the iron armor very heavy, only very strong soldiers could wear it to kill the enemy on the battlefield. Although the Prince of Yanping had 100,000 troops, the Iron Man Army was only 500. Zhang Huangyan felt that this killer move should be kept secret and would suddenly be taken out at a critical moment.

"There are more than 100,000 troops in this vassal, how can it be inconvenient for the subordinates?" Zheng Chenggong felt that Zhang Huangyan's words were a bit too contemptuous of his military strength. He was not without other troops available. In the past, he did hide the Iron Army in his hands and prevent the Qing army from knowing that he had such an ace. But now Zheng Chenggong felt that it was time to show his strength to the Qing army around Nanjing: "Please see, if we cannot break through x Guazhou in one go, maybe the surrounding Tartars will be lucky. Only by letting them see the power of the officers and soldiers and knowing that they can absolutely not resist, will they surrender to us honestly."

Before going to war, Zheng Chenggong had already built some siege equipment and carried it together in a large ship. With his order, the Ming army moved some stairs out of the ship. The Iron Man Army was ready at this time. Some soldiers climbed the stairs, and some followed the car down there.

Seeing the Ming army slowly approaching the city gate, Guazhou garrison ordered arrows to be fired. Although the Zheng army's iron army was slow to move, they were not injured in the rain of arrows poured under the city of Guazhou. These iron armored soldiers were not only protected by iron armor, but also protected by masks on their faces. The armor-breaking arrows used by the Qing army hit Zheng Chenggong's special iron armor, and could only make a helpless jingle sound and fell to the ground one after another.

Guazhou's fortifications were not complete, and they were not as dense as the cities around Kuidong. After the Ming army filled the trenches, they pushed the stairs to the city wall. Their stairs were almost on the same side as the walls of Guazhou. After putting down the front bridge, the soldiers of the Iron Man Army walked up the city wall directly from the stairs.

"Cross-cross arrows, volley!"

Zuo Yunlong shouted loudly, shooting the iron armored soldiers of the Zheng family with the most powerful crossbow, but he actually saw that even if he was hit by the crossbow arrow, the soldiers of the Zheng family continued to advance as if nothing had happened, and the Qing soldiers opposite them were shocked.

The tall Ming soldiers, like towers, slowly walked to the opponent and raised their weapons to slash at the Qing soldiers. Several Qing soldiers who were still in a daze were immediately chopped to the ground. Other Qing soldiers who reacted were snatching and swung their swords forward, and slashing at these slow-moving Ming soldiers. But like the attacks of crossbows, the attacks of these swords and guns were also completely ineffective, and at most they could only beat the Ming army backwards.

Although the actions of the Ming soldiers were far less flexible than those of the Qing soldiers, they were invincible and were invincible. Even if they were hit by the Qing army dozens of times, it would not be a big deal. If the Qing army unfortunately got a hit, they would immediately fall to the ground.

The Ming army had more and more iron-armored soldiers climbed the Guazhou city walls. The Qing army, who had fought with it for a long time, did not achieve any results. They soon began to lose confidence. After seeing the people in the front row being killed by the Ming army, the Qing army in the back row refused to step forward to engage in a completely ineffective attack.

Seeing the soldiers constantly retreating, the Qing army generals who were supervising the battle were all anxious. Zuo Yunlong just saw three spearmen stabbing a Ming army's iron armored soldier together, pushing him on the wall and using his strength to poke him, but he couldn't poke the opponent's armor. When the three spearmen were exhausted, the Ming army left the wall and started moving forward again.

Someone had just wanted to attack the Ming army's feet, but the Qing soldiers saw that under the Ming army's trousers were exposed, not straw sandals, and the Ming army's feet were also well protected.

"Cut the calf!" Zuo Yunlong, who was almost desperate, suddenly shouted loudly. He ordered the soldiers of the personal military camp to specialize in the lower three routes of the Ming army. The opponent's movement was extremely slow. It was obvious that the armor on their bodies was extremely heavy. As long as they could hurt their legs, the defenders felt that they would probably not be able to carry such a heavy burden and continue to advance.

The personal soldiers came forward, and the Ming army in front of them raised the axe and sword in their hands again. Several personal soldiers rushed to the front of the slow-moving enemy, and rolled in front of the Ming army, slashed at their calves, slashed at their calves.

These weapons were installed on the Ming army's pants and were bounced back, making a crisp metal collision sound. Under the cloth of the pants, the soldiers of the Iron Army were all wearing long iron boots. These iron shoes were designed by Zheng Chenggong himself after referring to the Dutch armor, which could defend against attacks from swords and guns.

The Iron Man Army of the Ming army continued to advance unstoppably, expelling a large number of Qing soldiers from the walls, and slowly gaining control of the city tower. Zheng Chenggong looked at the great success of the secret weapon with satisfaction and ordered the follow-up echelon to follow up.

The follow-up troops had been impatient for a long time. The power of the Iron Man Army had long made the Ming army behind them highly motivated and their morale was extremely high. After hearing the sound of war drums, thousands of Ming troops rushed forward. At this time, the city tower was under the control of the Iron Man Army, and there was no threat of the Qing army's firepower.

A large number of Ming troops quickly climbed up to the city wall and helped the Iron Man Army to kill the Guazhou defenders. When the Ming army opened the city gate, the guard general Zuo Yunlong had already died in the hands of an iron-armored warrior. The remaining Qing army, who had lost their fighting spirit, fled from the other city gate.

Looking at these fleeing enemies, Zheng Chenggong ordered not to pursue: "Let them go and let them tell the surrounding prefectures and counties how the Tartars in Guazhou were vulnerable."

In the battle of Guazhou, Zheng Chenggong's Iron Man Army showed his power and easily broke through the city gates guarded by heavy troops without any losses.

After the Qing army deployed the river-blocking iron chains, wooden piles and forts deployed by the Qing army in Guazhou, most of the river defense deployed by the Qing Dynasty in the lower reaches of Nanjing have been eliminated.

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