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On the evening of March 13, all the senior officials in the Governor General's Office of Liangjiang and Jiangning City gathered here. The leaders were Governor Niu Jian, Governor of Liangjiang, Dezhubu, Jiangning General, Jiangsu Governor Sun Shanbao, Hangzhou General Qiying and Zhejiang Governor Liu Yunke.

In addition, there were also Jiangnan Navy General Fu Zhulonga and the senior officers of the Eight Banners soldiers in Jiangning and Hangzhou. However, everyone's faces were a little unfavorable. The Xinhua Navy was very arrogant this afternoon and bombed the Jiangning city walls and surrounding turrets. After they destroyed all the turrets, they left. Such arrogance made the Qing generals very angry. However, they had no way to stop them. The cannons along the Yangtze River were destroyed, and they had no other way except helplessness.

"General, dear sirs. During the battle this afternoon, the forts on the Mufu Mountain and the cannons set up on the city walls in the north of Jiangning were all destroyed by the Xinhua Army. We lost a total of 80 cannons, with more than 300 casualties." A Qing army general reported to everyone.

"How much damage did we cause to the Xinhua Army?" asked General Dezhubu, Jiangning. In a very short time, the forts along the Yangtze River were removed by the Xinhua Army, which exposed the entire Jiangning to the guns of the Xinhua Army.

"General, we injured several Xinhua Army warships. However, our shells were all solid bullets. The damage caused to the Xinhua Army was very limited. It can only be considered a minor injury." General Governor replied honestly.

"Hmph! The Xinhua Army is just relying on the power of firearms, so it is so arrogant. If the Qing army also equipped those firearms, we don't have to be afraid of them." Jiangsu Governor Sun Shanbao said disdainfully. However, no one agreed with his words. Weapons and equipment are also a kind of military strength. In the Opium War, the Qing army had already experienced the power of firearms.

"The Xinhua Army is already very close to Jiangning. Their navy has appeared in the Yangtze River north of Jiangning, and the army is only a few dozen miles away from Jiangning. At most, they will be at the city of Jiangning the day after tomorrow. Next, we will be attacked by the Xinhua Army. Is there any way to help Jiangning through this crisis? Everyone speaks freely. As long as Jiangning can be saved, I will definitely ask His Majesty for rewards." Governor Niu Jian, Liangjiang, looked at the generals below and asked earnestly.

The Qing army generals, whether Manchu or Han generals, all kept silent. The afternoon battle had already made them understand the strength of the Xinhua Army. This made them very worried. If they fought with the Xinhua Army, would they survive? As for protecting Jiangning, in their opinion, this was simply a daydream. Although there were still tens of thousands of regular troops in Jiangning City, and tens of thousands of rural brave men who had just recruited. However, whether it was the Eight Banners soldiers or rural brave men, their combat effectiveness was very trash. It was not easy to rely on such troops to resist the attack of the Xinhua Army.

Everyone held a high attitude of not being attentive to their own affairs. They lowered their heads and said nothing. It was not that they didn't want to show their faces. There was really no way! The Xinhua Army was too powerful, and compared with them, the Qing Army was no match for the same level.

Looking at the generals who did not say a word, Niu Jian, the Governor of Liangjiang, gradually became gloomy. He also knew that the situation in Jiangning is very dangerous now. The generals were probably desperate about the situation in front of him. Anyone with discerning eyes knew that this time the Qing Dynasty might have to fall into another big fall. As for how much the loss will be, it all depends on how much the New China Army will have.

"Governor General, Bei Zhi believes that we can only defend the city by the city now. The navy of Xinhua has controlled the Yangtze River, and our northward road has been blocked. The provinces around Jiangning are extremely empty and there is no way to reinforce us. Even if we give up Jiangning, we have no place to escape. Instead, we stay in Jiangning and defend with the help of Jiangning's tall city walls, and there may be a glimmer of life. After all, there are still 100,000 troops in the city, and many ordinary people are on our side. Therefore, as long as everyone works together, they may be able to really defend Jiangning." The Jiangnan Navy participated in Fuzhulonga.

In fact, Fu Zhulong's words had no constructive opinions at all, and they just advised everyone to treat the dead as a living horse. Since they could not escape, they could only defend themselves in Jiangning. Although such a choice is almost a life-and-death life, there is still a glimmer of hope.

"General Fu's words make sense. Now Jiangning has reached the most dangerous moment. Only by defending the country and uniting together can we resist the attack of the Xinhua Army. From now on, this general orders that everyone must fight to the death, whether it is soldiers, officers, or you senior generals, if you are afraid of death on the battlefield, I will never give up easily." Jiangning General Dezhubu said.

"Yes, General!" All the generals replied with a tough bullet. They knew that whether the next battle could save their lives depends on whether God would bless him.

On the evening of March 14, the Xinhua Army arrived outside Jiangning City and set up camp five kilometers away from Zhongshan. The Qing army deployed more than 20 cannons on Zhongshan, and more than 2,000 people were stationed here. If the Xinhua Army directly attacked the city of Jiangning, it would undoubtedly hit the gun of the Qing army. Therefore, Brigadier General Liu Zhongming, the commander of the Xinhua Army, planned to capture Zhongshan tomorrow morning and then attack Jiangning City. Moreover, after capturing Zhongshan, the Xinhua Army could transport the cannons to Zhongshan and launch artillery attacks from a high point. The entire Jiangning City would be within the range of the Xinhua Army's cannons. The 75mm field cannons can be split and cannons can be transported to Zhongshan.

On the morning of March 15, after a night of rest, the soldiers of the Xinhua Army got up in high spirits. After breakfast early, the Xinhua Army's attack on Zhongshan was about to begin.

The five brigade artillery battalions of the Xinhua Army, with a total of 120 75mm field artillery pieces, all entered the artillery positions. The muzzles all pointed to the Qing army's fortress located halfway up the mountain in Zhongshan. Zhongshan is just a small hill outside Jiangning City, with an altitude of only 250 meters. The Qing army's fortress was located halfway up the mountain in Zhongshan.

"Fire!" With the order of the battalion commander of the 4th Brigade Artillery Battalion, 120 75mm field artillery fired one after another. The violent artillery attacks of hundreds of cannons shocked everyone. The Qing army, as the enemy of the Xinhua Army, felt frightened.

The Qing army on Zhongshan was already worried when the Xinhua Army arrived. They wanted to escape back to Jiangning, but Jiangning General Dezhubu ordered them to defend Zhongshan to the death, otherwise they would be treated as deserters. This left these two thousand Qing troops unable to do anything and had to guard the mountain.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The overwhelming artillery shells flew to Zhongshan and exploded near the fortress halfway up the mountain. Faced with the violent artillery of 120 Xinhua Army cannons, the Qing army had completely lost confidence in resistance. Their more than 20 cannons were not launched. Those artillery gates had already fled from the fortress, and they were all over the mountains to avoid the violent artillery of the Xinhua Army.

The shells exploded on the Qing army's artillery, destroying the iron cannons from each other, and even the barrels were blown into a mess during the explosion.

The artillery fire of the Xinhua Army was very fierce. The Qing army guarding Zhongshan suffered heavy losses from the fierce artillery bombardment of the Xinhua Army. As a last resort, a white flag rose on Zhongshan after only more than ten minutes of the artillery bombardment of the Xinhua Army. The Qing army generals guarding Zhongshan ordered to surrender to the Xinhua Army. They were all soldiers of the Green Camp in Jiangnan, not the Eight Banners soldiers, so they were sent out of the city to die. Under such circumstances, of course, they were not willing to die for the sake of the Qing Dynasty. What's more, the Xinhua Army's artillery bombardment was so fierce that if they resisted stubbornly, there would be only a dead end.

The Qing army surrendered so quickly, which surprised the Xinhua Army. However, this saved the Xinhua Army a lot of trouble. Originally, the two infantry battalions of the Xinhua Army were preparing to launch an attack after artillery attack. Even if the Qing army did not fight, the Xinhua Army would definitely suffer a certain amount of casualties when attacking. Now that the Qing army has surrendered voluntarily, the Xinhua Army does not have to pay unnecessary losses. In addition, every time the Xinhua Army attacks, it will require a large amount of artillery fire preparation, which will consume a large amount of artillery shells. The shells used by the Xinhua Army now need to be transported from Manila thousands of miles away, which can save a little shells, which is also very good.

The Qing army guarding Zhongshan surrendered to the Xinhua Army, which made the Qing army generals furious, especially Jiangning General Dezhubu, even clamored to see the heads of the surrendered Qing army. However, now the Qing army has surrendered like the Xinhua Army, and they will be locked up in the Xinhua Army's prisoner-of-war camp. It is impossible to cut off their heads again. However, after Jiangning was captured by the Xinhua Army, senior officials of the Qing army such as Dezhubu will definitely be locked up in the Xinhua Army's prisoner-of-war camp. Of course, they can also choose to die in battle. However, will these senior officials who have enjoyed good days be willing to end their lives?

Soon, the Xinhua Army controlled Zhongshan. Afterwards, the Xinhua Army transported the cannons to Zhongshan, and on the other hand continued to advance towards Jiangning. By noon, tens of thousands of Xinhua Army had already arrived at Jiangning City. The powerful Xinhua Army gave Jiangning's defenders, especially those senior officials of the Qing Dynasty, a great shock. They seemed to have realized the tragic ending. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!