Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 152 Li Yi: Strangling the Hunan Army in the embryo!
Upon hearing this, Meng De'en spoke.

"Heavenly King, I think the Kingdom of Heaven may be able to recall the Northern King who is on the Northern Expedition."

"Anyway, the Northern Expedition Army led by the Northern King is now blocked outside the city of Jinan and cannot advance an inch. There is no benefit in continuing the stalemate."

"In this case, we might as well recall the Northern King and gather the main forces of our Heavenly Kingdom to break the blockade of Tianjing by the Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps of the Qing demons before doing anything else."

Meng De'en was somewhat knowledgeable and knew that given the current situation, it was meaningless for Wei Changhui's troops to continue the Northern Expedition.

It could not accomplish the task of attracting the Qing court's attention.

In this case, recalling Wei Changhui is the best option.

When Hong Xiuquan heard this, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

After a moment he spoke.

"That makes sense."

"De'en, you should go and tell the East King to come back and discuss the matter of asking the North King to return..."

Upon hearing this, Meng De'en immediately bowed and took his leave.

……

Guangzhou, Tang Palace!

Li Yi, who was reviewing memorials, received an urgent report from the Military Intelligence Department.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened."

"The Western Palace troops of the Taiping Army led by Hong Xuanjiao were ambushed when they left Nanyang and passed through Tiger Ridge in Jingzhou Prefecture."

"completely annihilated!"

"Hong Xiujiao was defeated and captured, and thousands of Taiping prisoners were killed by Zeng Guofan, the Qing Dynasty's evil Hunan militia minister."

"Also, Shi Dakai's Taiping Army also left Nanyang and began to move westward into Sichuan."

"I'm afraid the war situation in Huguang is about to change..."

Li Liang strode up to Li Yi and began to report.

The expression on his face was somewhat solemn!
As the director of the Military Intelligence Department of the Tang Dynasty, Li Liang collects a large amount of information every day.

He was able to realize the impact of the annihilation of Hong Xiujiao's troops and Shi Dakai's departure from Nanyang and entering Sichuan.

Li Yi's expression was also somewhat solemn.

After the defeat in the Battle of Luoyang, the Taiping Army led by Shi Dakai and Hong Xiujiao suffered heavy losses and retreated to Nanyang.

However, they still have a great influence on the world's war situation.

Because Shi Dakai and Hong Xiujiao in Nanyang could go south or north at any time, which took up a considerable amount of the Qing court's energy.

As long as Shi Dakai and Hong Xuanjiao do not take any action, the Qing troops in Henan and Hubei will not dare to act rashly.

However, with the defeat of Hong Xiuquan and Shi Dakai's advance into Sichuan, the Qing government's military forces in Henan and Hubei provinces were like having the dog chain tied around their necks removed.

Next, the Qing government could calmly mobilize troops from Henan and Hubei provinces to be used in the battles in Jiangnan or Guangdong and Guangxi.

This is not good news for the overall anti-Qing situation in the world.

The situation for the Tang army was relatively easy, as they had the Taiping Army at the front and the military pressure they faced was not that great.

This was especially true after the imperial examinations were held and the tide of rebellion gradually subsided.

But the Taiping Army in Jiangnan is really going to be finished...

Li Yi thought for a while and then said.

"Go and call the ministers from the Ministry of the Interior and the General Staff to come to the palace to discuss this matter."

"Since the Battle of Guangzhou, our Tang Dynasty has been dormant for a long time. Now it's time to move!"

Li Liang heard this and spoke with a bit of excitement.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

After he finished speaking, he clasped his fists and left to deliver Li Yi's message.

……

Soon, Li Liang summoned all the high-ranking officials of the Restoration Army to the palace.

In the conference room, Li Yi was already waiting for them.

In the hall, there is a huge map hanging, which clearly marks the current situation in the world.

For example, Wei Changhui was trapped at the gates of Jinan, confronting Senggelinqin and Shengbao from a distance.

For example, Shi Dakai who entered Sichuan from the west.

For example, Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing who were trapped in Jiangning, and the Qing army's Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps outside Jiangning City commanded by Xiang Rong and Qishan.

Even the distribution of the Tiandihui rebel army in Fujian and Jiangxi, and the Nian Army in Huaibei, Henan and Anhui were clearly marked on this map.

When everyone arrived at the meeting room, they saw Li Yi standing in front of the map with a thoughtful look on his face.

Li Yi took his eyes off the map and turned to speak.

"Please take a seat, everyone!"

After everyone sat down, Li Yi also sat down in the main seat and spoke.

"I have received the latest news that Shi Dakai and Hong Xuanjiao, who were originally stationed in Nanyang for rest, have separated."

"Shi Dakai led his army westward, preparing to enter Sichuan."

"Hong Xuanjiao led her army southward, preparing to take the Yangtze River to Tianjing."

"Then, we were ambushed at Longhu Ridge in Jingzhou Prefecture, Hubei, and our entire army was wiped out."

"The war situation in the Central Plains and Huguang has changed and is beginning to tilt in the direction of the Qing demons."

"Everyone, please tell me, how should the Tang Dynasty respond next?"

Li Yi briefly stated the current situation and then asked.

After Li Yi said this, everyone fell silent at first, and then lowered their heads to think.

After a moment, Fan Xiyuan, who was transferred from the Operations Department of the General Staff to the Minister of the Interior, spoke first.

"Your Majesty, I think that the Tang Dynasty cannot sit idly by and watch the Qing demons' troops in the Central Plains and Huguang areas release their control and regain a city. Instead, we should take this opportunity to send troops outward to reverse the current crisis."

Under Li Yi's influence, almost everyone in the Tang Dynasty was a warmonger.

In other words, it is impossible for a team in the early stages of a startup to be without a sense of enterprising.

Li Yi nodded slightly in agreement, then asked.

"I agree with sending troops."

"But, in which direction should the Tang Dynasty deploy its troops next?"

"Guangxi? Hunan? Jiangxi? Or Fujian?"

Currently, these are the provinces bordering the territory of the Tang Dynasty!
Guangxi is because the Tang Dynasty has only taken over half of Guangxi, and the remaining half is still under the control of the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, the Tang Dynasty could also send troops towards Guangxi.

After Li Yi said this, everyone started thinking about it again.

Zuo Zongtang, who was recently appointed as the director of the secretariat by Li Yi, stood up and said.

"Your Majesty, I think the Tang Dynasty should send troops to Hunan next."

When Li Yi saw that it was Zuo Zongtang, his heart moved slightly. It turned out that Zuo Zongtang had the same idea as him.

But even so, Li Yi did not agree immediately, but asked.

"What's the reason?"

Upon hearing this, Zuo Zongtang did not hesitate to analyze the situation.

"First of all, the main reason for the change in the world situation today is that with Shi Dakai's westward advance and the demise of Hong Xuanjiao, the Qing court's military forces in Huguang and the Central Plains were loosened."

"If Your Majesty wants to change the current situation, marching into Hunan is the most direct and appropriate option." "Secondly, Hunan is a place of outstanding people, rich resources, and a large number of talented people. If the Tang Dynasty can take Hunan, it will be able to secure the foundation for the struggle for the world."

"Third, under the premise that the south and north of the Yangtze River have become war zones, Hunan is the Qing Dynasty's most important granary in the south."

"If the Tang Dynasty can conquer Hunan, it will be like cutting off an arm of the Qing Dynasty!"

"In summary, I believe that Hunan is the direction where our Tang Dynasty should deploy its troops most at this moment."

Hearing this, Li Yi frowned and pondered. After a moment, he made a decision and spoke immediately.

"Okay, let's attack Hunan!"

"This time, I plan to lead the army in person to capture Hunan."

"For this Northern Expedition, I will draw on my Imperial Guard Brigade, the First Infantry Division of the Tang Dynasty, the Fourth Infantry Division, the First Cavalry Regiment, and the First Artillery Regiment to form a Northern Expedition Army to fight."

"The Operations Department of the General Staff should come up with a mature combat plan as soon as possible. The Logistics Department should prepare and transport the logistical materials needed for the army's expedition. The Ordnance Department should prepare the ordnance and weapons needed by the army..."

Li Yi assigned combat tasks to various departments of the General Staff.

When everyone heard this, they all clasped their fists in response.

The reason why Li Yi decided to attack Hunan was partly because of the reasons mentioned above by Zuo Zongtang.

The second reason is that he knew how great the influence of the Hunan Army was on modern China.

Now that he knew that Zeng Guofan had returned to Hunan and had begun to form the Hunan Army, Li Yi naturally could not allow the Hunan Army to continue to grow.

Sending troops to Hunan as soon as possible to strangle the Hunan Army, which has not yet been fully formed, in its embryonic stage is what Li Yi wants to do most right now?

Hunan Army?

Is it awesome?
You should form an army first!
The troops that Li Yi mobilized to fight also had their own particularities.

The origin of the Imperial Guards Brigade was Li Yi's Guard Regiment. After he proclaimed himself king and established the system, the Guard Regiment naturally expanded into the Imperial Guards Brigade.

This is currently the most powerful army in the Tang Dynasty. All its members are elites carefully selected from various military units. The entire army is equipped with breech-loading rifles and uses new tactics.

Not to mention in China, even in the whole world, their combat effectiveness is absolutely first-class.

Li Yi mobilized the Imperial Guard Brigade to support the Northern Expedition just in case.

The First Infantry Division is the absolute main force of the Tang Dynasty except for Li Yi's imperial guards. It has been formed the longest and has experienced the most wars.

When the Tang Dynasty fought against the British Army in the Battle of Guangzhou, they were the main force.

These are the elite troops who have truly defeated the foreigners!
The 4th Infantry Division is a newly formed unit with average training level and combat experience.

At most, they participated in battles to suppress rebellions and bandits.

The reason why Li Yi wanted to mobilize them was to use the old to guide the new and to hone the combat effectiveness of the newly formed 4th Infantry Division on the battlefield.

The remaining First Cavalry Regiment and the First Artillery Regiment are not simple either.

There are not many cavalry in the Tang Dynasty now, and the First Cavalry Regiment is almost all the cavalry in the Tang Army.

It is worth mentioning that Li Yi did not use them as traditional cavalry, but trained them in the direction of dragoons.

That is, mount the horse and move forward, dismount and fight on foot.

The weapons and equipment are mainly rear-loading rifles and revolvers.

Although they had never fought against the Qing army, judging from their performance in the rebellion suppression wars, their combat effectiveness was still very good.

The First Artillery Regiment was the main artillery force of the Tang Dynasty. The entire artillery regiment had a total of 1500 soldiers and gunners, and was equipped with light and heavy artillery pieces.

Among them, there were 100 5-jin field guns, 50 10-jin field guns, 30 15-jin siege guns, and 10 20-jin heavy guns.

As for larger caliber artillery, the Tang Dynasty did have them, but they were too heavy to be conveniently transported with the army.

Therefore, they were not incorporated into the artillery regiment, but most of them were equipped to coastal defense artillery batteries or used as fortress artillery in local fortresses.

Or it can be equipped to the navy and used as naval guns.

The remaining ten are the latest breech-loading rifled cannons developed by the arsenal.

There aren’t many of them, and the number of new explosive bombs is also relatively limited.

The reason why Li Yi equipped the artillery regiment was to allow his subordinates to explore and practice relevant tactics on the battlefield.

These days, breech-loading weapons, whether they are guns or cannons, are all cutting-edge products.

Even most Western countries are still in the process of exploring how to use these weapons.

Needless to say, breech-loading guns have not yet been invented by Western countries.

As for breech-loading rifles, almost all Western countries still use breech-loading rifles to line up in dense queues and shoot people in rows.

It’s not as good as the Tang Dynasty!

At least Li Yi knew that when using a breech-loading rifle, he could lie down and shoot instead of lining up to be shot.

Therefore, the Tang Dynasty could only rely on its own exploration of the tactics and strategies of breech-loading weapons.

Of course, Li Yi also exchanged several infantry drill manuals of various countries during the First World War from the mall panel and handed them over to the Military Academy for study.

But, what is in the book is just in the book after all.

If you want to take something from a book and make it your own, it won't work just by reading the book.

You have to practice first!

And this is exactly what Li Yi is doing now.

After Li Yi gave these instructions, everyone took their leave.

In Guangzhou City, the atmosphere of war began to become more intense, and the calls for the Northern Expedition began to grow louder and louder.

At the same time, as the imperial examination papers were being marked overnight, the list of successful candidates was posted.

The imperial examination finally came to an end.

……

There was a sound of gongs and drums outside the courtyard, and an official holding a roll of documents came to the door of the Zhao family under the guidance of the neighborhood chief.

The head of the neighborhood knocked on the door and called out.

"Master Zhao, is Master Zhao home?"

Soon, the gate of the courtyard was opened, but the person who came out was not Master Zhao, but a woman with slightly high cheekbones, thin lips, and a somewhat mean look.

"What brings you here, Chief?"

"My husband is on duty and hasn't come back yet."

Before the head of the neighborhood could say anything, the clerk holding the documents beside him spoke up.

"It doesn't matter if she's not here. We came here mainly to look for Ms. Fu Shanxiang."

"The results of the imperial examination were announced today, and Ms. Fu won the top spot in the female category. Haha, congratulations, congratulations!"

"Ms." is not a modern word, in fact it has existed in ancient times.

This word comes from the Book of Songs.

"Madam" refers to a woman who has the conduct of a gentleman.

It is used to describe a woman who has the same actions and talents as men, that is, a respectful title for knowledgeable and well-educated women.

It means almost the same thing as Mr.
With Fu Shanxiang's achievement of being the top scorer in the female subject, it was normal for her to be respectfully addressed as Ms.

When Fu Shanxiang's aunt heard this, her expression was obviously stunned, and then she was filled with disbelief.

"Shanxiang, did she win...really win?"

"Or the top scholar?"

"How can this be?!"

In her opinion, her cheap niece did have some talent, but who were those Jinshi masters?

They are all Wenquxing who came down from the sky!
Even if she has some talent, how can she reach such a high position?

Not to mention becoming the top scorer in the imperial examination!
(End of this chapter)