Outside the city of Nanjing, 20,000 troops in armor were marching southward. The mighty column stretched for several miles. This was an elite division mobilized by the emperor from the garrison in the capital and sent specifically to Shanghai to quell the rebellion.
Yuan Chengzhi and a dozen generals rode on war horses and stood on a small slope watching the progress of the team. He was wearing golden armor and a sky-blue jersey. He was mighty with a touch of elegance, quite like a father.
At this time, Yuan Chengzhi's heart was full of ambition and excitement.
"This is my army." The young marshal held a telescope and looked at the army from beginning to end, and then from end to end, and he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Yuan Chengzhi was the son of a general. Although he was not very strong, he was well versed in military books and strategies and had a lot of strategy since he was a child. However, he was born at the wrong time. When he had just finished his studies, Liu Ziguang came out of the blue and took over the Ming Dynasty by himself.
All the battles that could be fought were won, and this guy was young and handsome. He suddenly became the idol of thousands of people in the Ming Dynasty. Under such glory, there was no chance for Yuan Chengzhi to show himself. He was extremely
He was high-minded and unwilling to serve as an official under his father, so he kept studying at home. It was not until one day that Zhu Youxiao established the Eighth School Captain of Xiyuan and discovered Yuan Chengzhi from obscurity.
Although the battle in the capital did not bring Liu Ziguang to justice, it could be regarded as a success. Yuan Chengzhi's ability was confirmed and he gained the emperor's trust. When something happened in Shanghai this time, the first thing Zhu Youxiao thought of was Yuan Chengzhi, so he appointed him.
In order to suppress the rebellion, he recruited generals, commanded the Jiangnan naval and land forces, and put an end to the riots in Shanghai.
The heavy equipment of the army had been transported from the railway, but Yuan Chengzhi insisted on holding a military parade, so he asked his subordinates to put on full armor, pass in front of him with spears and halberds, and then get on the car and ship.
Heading to Shanghai.
Firearms have developed rapidly in recent years, and no matter how thick the armor is, it is useless in front of firecrackers. Therefore, except for the iron helmet, the Red Shirt Army basically does not wear much armor. However, Marshal Yuan does not recognize this and insists on his subordinates wearing four-armour.
Fifteen pounds of standard armor was shown to him under the sun. The soldiers had no choice but to obey the order. They dared not say it with their mouths, but they also cursed in their hearts. They had no choice but to make the young marshal like this.
.
The people on the outskirts of the capital looked at this army in fear. Different from the previous Northern Expedition and Western Expedition, this army was heading to the southeast. Everyone knew that there was no peace on the Shanghai Road a few days ago. Unexpectedly, it had already
To such an extent, tens of thousands of troops were needed to quell the rebellion. What happened to the Ming Dynasty?
Transportation in the south of the Yangtze River is convenient, and the army arrived in Shanghai in less than two days. Yuan Chengzhi first took over the command of the original fifty thousand troops, and then killed four or five generals. The generals who were timid and fearful of fighting at the level of a thousand households, the atmosphere in the army
Shocked.
"There are only a few thousand rebels in the city of Shanghai. With my 100,000 tiger warriors, the rebellion can only be suppressed in a matter of days. From now on, the officers and soldiers of the three armies must fulfill their duties and must capture this city within three days."
Inside the handsome account, Yuan Chengzhi's horsewhip pointed fiercely at Shanghai on the map.
"Commander, the rebels have built several layers of defense. The firepower is intensive and it is difficult to break through. We waited for the attack the day before yesterday and lost seven to eight hundred brothers before we captured a small frontier village. After breaking in, the rebels were dead.
We have killed more than a dozen people. If this continues, it may take more than hundreds of thousands of lives to capture Shanghai. Please think twice, commander-in-chief." A general said.
"It's ridiculous! We lost seven to eight hundred people before we could capture an outlying village. You have the nerve to mention it. That's because you didn't use your troops well. Let's see how I command."
Yuan Chengzhi personally visited the battlefield and observed the opponent's front with a telescope. Shanghai was very large, and only a small part of it was covered by the city wall. The rest were cotton fields, paddy fields, small towns, and villages. The rebels set up positions in these villages and dug holes.
After creating trenches, the soldiers lay down in them and fired. The bullets and bows fired from the opposite side could not hurt them at all. On the contrary, the attacking side suffered huge losses in the wilderness.
In past battles, we either relied on city walls for defense or fought in the wild. It was unprecedented to fight positional defense battles lying in ditches like this. The area where Yuan Chengzhi had seen soldiers floating in the sky was not suitable at all, not to mention that the opponent was proficient in firearms tactics and tactics.
Composed of technical workers with mechanical principles, the tank's huge body and huge roar were not a deterrent to them at all. Instead, they caught the weak point and used rocket launchers to specifically attack the track part. After a long fight, the officers and soldiers were still
It's no progress.
Yuan Chengzhi felt very shameless. When he went to the expedition, he boasted in front of the emperor about Haikou. He would capture Shanghai within three days. Otherwise, if he didn't raise his head, he would not even touch a small village in the past half day. Could it be that Xiang Shang
Do you really want to carry the head back?
Death is a small matter, but losing the face of the old Yuan family is a big deal. Yuan Chengzhi became anxious and said: "I want you to take over this village within an hour, otherwise all military law will be engaged!" Then the old man became angry.
He left, leaving a group of officers and soldiers looking at each other.
In fact, there was a reason why the battle was so difficult. The imperial troops stationed in Shanghai were originally from the locals. It was not easy for them to open fire on the villagers. Now that the commander-in-chief wanted to engage in military law, the officers had to be very alert.
, led his men to attack.
The Jiuting Town in front of us is the core position of the Songjiang Defense Line. Xia Wanchun and the others have placed a lot of superior troops here, so the officers and soldiers rushed several times in a row, killing many people and still making no achievements. In the paddy fields in front of the town,
Dead bodies and the remains of chariots were lying all over the place, and the smell of gunpowder smoke and burning weapons filled the air. The once prosperous Jiangnan town turned into a brutal hell on earth.
In the evening, Marshal Yuan came to inspect. When he saw that the town had not been taken, he was furious on the spot and ordered the military law team to take down all the battalions responsible for the main attack. Officers from more than a hundred households were beheaded, and the soldiers were lined up in a row, and one out of every ten people was selected.
Beheading, military law is so harsh that even Nai's father would not tolerate it.
Looking at the blood-red patches in front of him, Yuan Chengzhi remained unmoved and continued to throw out a command arrow, saying in a cold voice: "General Han Shen, it's your battalion's turn this time. We won't be able to capture Jiuting Town at dawn tomorrow.
General Chen Shen is your role model."
General Han Shen was so frightened that he trembled with fear. He didn't dare to accept the order and didn't dare to talk nonsense. When he raised his head, Marshal Yuan had already led the horsemen and soldiers away. This battle really couldn't be fought. Either way, everyone would die, so it would be worse.
He just rebelled. Since his wife and children were in Shanghai anyway, he couldn't hold back his thoughts. That night he sent someone to contact the other party. When Yuan Chengzhi came to inspect again the next morning, all the soldiers of Han's battalion were gone.
.
Yuan Chengzhi was so angry. He realized that the original Shanghai Guard's imperial army could not be used, so he had to let these people brought from the capital come in. When he was deploying troops, an aide said: "Commander, since Jiuting is impregnable,
Why not just destroy it?"
Yuan Chengzhi said: "There are countless workshops and factories in Jiuting Town, and there are even more civilians. If cannons are used, everyone will be destroyed."
The staff member said: "I'm afraid these people have all become thieves and are no longer citizens of the Ming Dynasty. Why should the commander worry so much?"
Yuan Chengzhi lowered his head and thought for a while, and felt that what his staff said was quite reasonable. He immediately ordered the artillery to move forward and destroy Jiuting Town.
The roar of hundreds of heavy artillery resounded through the sky, and Jiuting Town was wiped out in an instant. This famous cotton spinning base in Songjiang became history. Hundreds of thousands of cotton cloth were destroyed in the sea of fire, and thousands of people were killed by artillery fire. The defending army
They also suffered heavy casualties and were forced to evacuate.
In the afternoon, the army finally entered Jiuting Town. Looking at the ruined town and the corpses burned to black charcoal, many soldiers couldn't help but vomited, but Marshal Yuan was unmoved. He just sighed softly: "You guys.
How can you be a thief?" Then he straightened his back and said to the flag: "Urgent report to Nanjing, the army has broken into the outskirts of Shanghai, there is no hope of annihilating the enemy, and the whole city will be conquered in the near future. Please wait for the good news. Recruit the general,
Yuan.”
Yuan Chengzhi finally found the magic weapon to defeat the enemy, which was the indiscriminate attack of the heavy artillery cluster, covering the target with a sea of fire. No matter how many or strong his defenders were, it would not help. As for destroying Shanghai and crippled it, that was not his consideration.
thing.
In the city of Shanghai, the governor's office. The loss of Songjiang's outer front made everyone panic. The government troops actually used heavy artillery to destroy the entire town. This was unexpected by everyone. There were many ship-borne cannons in the Jiangnan Shipyard, but their size was small.
The weight is too great to be used in land warfare. Furthermore, if you use naval guns to hit land, it will be a devastating blow. The officers and soldiers can do this cruel thing, but they can't do it.
"I will take a hundred brothers and take advantage of the night to blow up the heavy artillery of the officers and soldiers!" a hero from the Tiandihui shouted angrily.
"That's not appropriate. Yuan Chengzhi uses his troops very methodically and the camp is very secure. I'm afraid you'll be killed by random arrows before you get close." Liang Shiyi, the commander of the army, immediately objected.
"Let's also push up the cannon and blast them. We will all die together!" shouted a cadet officer.
"Yes, if we die together, no one is afraid of whom!" Everyone agreed together.
"There is nothing wrong with soldiers dying in battle, but it would be too shameless to drag millions of people in Shanghai to accompany them. Yuan Chengzhi can do it, but I can't." Liang Shiyi looked sternly and rejected everyone's suggestions.
"Liang, you are such a coward. How could the Duke of the State teach you to be such a coward?" The one who spoke was still the bold hero of the Heaven and Earth Society.
"Wrong! Not engaging in artillery battle with the officers and soldiers, this is the will of the Duke." A shout came from the door, and the commander Xia Wanchun had a telegram in his hand, and he had obviously just arrived.