Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 343: Fighting in Tianjin Restarts
Although the Yellow River burst its banks again, Li Yi had no intention of pursuing accountability.

The reason for this is that Li Yi understood that the Yellow River bursting was a natural disaster, not a man-made disaster.

Since the disaster relief work began last year, the focus of the disaster relief work has been to rebuild the Yellow River embankment through a work-for-relief approach.

If the Yellow River embankment is not repaired, floods will never be resolved and disaster relief will be in vain.

But the problem is that the Yellow River is too long. After the diversion, the section of the Yellow River flowing through Shandong is more than 600 kilometers long.

Last autumn and winter, and in the early spring of this year, even though the Tang Dynasty had tried its best, the victims continued to work day and night, and only a little more than half of the Yellow River embankments on both sides of the new river channel were repaired.

That is to say, the levee was repaired from the breached Tongwaxiang in Henan to several prefectures including Daming Prefecture in Zhili, Caozhou Prefecture, Yanzhou Prefecture, and Tai'an Prefecture in Shandong.

At present, the dike in Jinan Prefecture is being built at a rapid pace, while construction in Wuding Prefecture further downstream has hardly started yet.

In other words, this time the Yellow River did not break from the already repaired Yellow River embankment, but from the section of the Yellow River embankment that was under repair.

This also shows that there were no problems with the Yellow River embankment built by the Tang Dynasty before.

Under such circumstances, if Li Yi still wants to pursue accountability, it would be purely venting his anger.

Or take out your anger on innocent people.

Li Yi would never do such a thing.

After giving instructions for disaster relief, Li Yi continued.

"In addition, send a message to the Second Brigade of the Imperial Guards stationed in Tianjin, ordering them to move and launch an offensive in the direction of Wuqing and Tongzhou to contain the Qing army in Zhili to prevent the Qing army from taking advantage of this opportunity to move south."

The Yellow River broke its banks in Jinan. In order to provide disaster relief, Li Yi mobilized troops from several prefectures in Shandong to rush to the disaster area.

This will inevitably create loopholes in the Tang army's defense line against the Qing army.

If the Qing army sent troops south at this time, Li Yi in Jining would be in danger.

Therefore, Li Yi prepared to make some moves in the Tang army in Tianjin.

Li Yi just didn't believe it. The Tang army in Tianjin was about to break into the capital, and the Qing Dynasty could still spare troops to march south.

Well, he originally arranged for the Tang army to march north to Dagukou and occupy Tianjin for the current situation.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tai, who was beside Li Yi, immediately clasped his fists in response, then turned around and arranged for someone to pass on the message.

However, not long after Zhang Tai left, he saw Li Liang, who had just left to deliver the message, coming back in a hurry.

Seeing this scene, Li Yi couldn't help but frown, thinking that something had happened in the disaster area again.

My heart sank.

But before Li Yi could ask, Li Liang spoke even though they were still a long distance apart.

"Your Majesty, good news, good news!"

"An urgent report came from Vietnam that our army won a great victory in the Battle of Hanoi. Not only did we annihilate the main force of the Vietnamese army deployed in northern Vietnam, but we also forced Hanoi to surrender."

"I believe it won't be long before our army can take over all of Vietnam!"

As he spoke, Li Liang handed the military report in his hand to Li Yi with both hands.

Li Yi took the military newspaper and began to read it.

After a moment, a smile appeared on his face involuntarily.

"Good! Good! Good!"

"This Chen Yucheng really didn't disappoint me."

"With the Red River Delta in hand, food supply in the disaster area will no longer be a problem."

What is the most important thing in disaster relief?
Just two words: food!
As long as there is food, the overall situation will be stable.

As long as there is someone who stutters, there won't be any big trouble.

The rest of the problems are just minor ones!
Therefore, Li Yi was so happy when he saw Chen Yucheng and his men win a great victory in the battle of Hanoi.

After a brief pause, Li Yi continued.

"Immediately send an order to the army that conquered Vietnam, ordering them to collect food within the Red River Delta at all costs, load it onto ships, and transport it to the disaster area without any mistakes."

"In addition, send a message to the Ministry of the Interior, instructing it to prepare to send relevant officials to northern Vietnam to set up a departmental structure to cooperate with local officials who have surrendered to the Tang Dynasty to bring northern Vietnam under actual control as soon as possible, and then start collecting grain and taxes."

Li Yi’s purpose is very clear, he wants to take over the northern Vietnam area currently occupied by the Tang army.

Vietnam was once the homeland of the Chinese during the Han, Tang and Ming dynasties.

Since the Tang army had conquered Yue, it would be impossible for them to just leave after fighting. They had to recover the lost territory.

Well, at least we have to take back Wang Bo’s grave, right?

Upon hearing this, the messenger officer immediately clasped his fists in response and turned around to go downstairs to deliver the message.

A smile appeared involuntarily on Li Yi's face.

……

Tianjin, Tang army camp!
Zhang Biao received a military order from Jining.

He immediately rushed to discuss the war with Wu Quanmei.

"Commander Wu, Commander Wu, the king has urgent orders."

Zhang Biao strode into Wu Quanmei's office, came up to him and said.

When Wu Quanmei heard this, her expression changed and she raised her head and asked.

"what happened?"

"Is the imperial army going to march north?"

He and Zhang Biao had led their troops to Tianjin for some time.

Although the Qing army had not launched a counterattack against Tianjin during this period, Wu Quanmei still felt a little uncomfortable with the feeling of being alone deep behind enemy lines.

Now, hearing the urgent news from Jining, he subconsciously thought that the imperial court was going to launch a Northern Expedition.

I feel a little happy!

However, before Wu Quanmei could be happy for long, Zhang Biao continued.

"No, no!"

"It's not that the imperial court is planning to launch a northern expedition, but the Yellow River has burst its banks again. The king has ordered our troops to launch an offensive in the direction of Wuqing and Tongzhou to contain the Qing army and prevent it from interfering with our disaster relief efforts."

When Wu Quanmei heard this, a look of disappointment flashed across her face.

But he still said.

"That's it!"

"I wonder what Commander Zhang is going to do?"

Zhang Biao heard this and responded.

"I am going to lead the soldiers of the Second Brigade of the Imperial Guard to launch an offensive towards Wuqing and Tongzhou along the North Grand Canal."

"I hope Commander Wu can dispatch a naval fleet to assist in the battle!" To attack the capital from Tianjin, the North Grand Canal is definitely the most convenient route.

Logistics can be connected via the Haihe River and the Beiyun River and reach Tongzhou directly.

Tongzhou is very close to the capital!

Upon hearing this, Wu Quanmei nodded immediately.

"Easy to say!"

"I will now order the troops to gather and prepare for battle."

Zhang Biao nodded and agreed after hearing this.

Soon, the Tang army in Tianjin was ready for the expedition. They gathered their troops and marched along the Haihe River towards the North Grand Canal.

……

On the other side, as soon as the Tang army took action, the Qing army received a report.

Cai Bingwen, who had just been promoted to Governor-General of Zhili, paced constantly in his tent, with visible anxiety on his face.

"The Tang thieves are heading west?"

"They were living well in Tianjin, why did they suddenly want to go west?"

Nerjing'e, who was standing aside, looked at the report in his hand with a pale face.

He muttered in a panic, and turned to look at Cai Bingwen.

"Master Cai, the Tang bandits are advancing westward again. What should we do?"

Cai Bingwen stopped pacing and said.

"In the current situation, all we can do is to hold on to Wuqing while sending a letter to the capital for help."

"I believe that as long as we can hold out until reinforcements arrive from the capital, we will be able to stop the Tang bandits from advancing westward."

Cai Bingwen also realized the seriousness of the matter.

But facing the Tang army's offensive, he had no other options except to build a strong camp, fight a static battle and wait for reinforcements.

Upon hearing this, Nerjing'e nodded immediately.

"Master Cai is right."

"Then how about I go to the capital in person to ask for help?"

While saying this, Nerjing'e looked at Cai Bingwen with expectation.

That look seemed to be saying, Lao Cai, we’ve been brothers for so many years, you have to help me!

Cai Bingwen's mouth twitched, but he still spoke.

"That's fine too."

"Lord Ne's personal visit to the capital to ask for help can also explain the predicament on our front line more clearly."

"In this way, the court should be able to send reinforcements quickly."

Nerjinge nodded vigorously and said.

"Don't worry, Master Cai. I will definitely ask for reinforcements for Wuqing."

Cai Bingwen's mouth twitched, and he said nothing more.

Nerjing'e clasped his fists towards Cai Bingwen and turned to leave.

He rode his horse all the way towards the capital, ready to seek help from the front line.

Not long after Nerjing'e left, the vanguard of the Tang army had already advanced to Wuqing.

The rumbling sound of artillery fire opened the curtain of war!

Under the cover of artillery fire, the Tang army soldiers launched a mighty charge towards the Qing army camp.

……

Nerjing'e rode his horse all the way back to the capital.

He rushed to the Forbidden City as soon as possible, ready to ask to see Yi.

Yi met him, and then learned that the Tang army in Tianjin was advancing westward and Wuqing was in a state of emergency.

Yi could not help but feel dizzy before his eyes, and could only order all the ministers of the Grand Council to come and discuss the matter.

"Tang thieves from Tianjin suddenly moved westwards, and Wuqing was in danger."

"I am worried that after conquering Wuqing, the Tang thieves will continue to attack Tongzhou and the capital. By then, the capital will be in danger."

"Please tell me, my lords. How should the Qing Dynasty deal with the current crisis?"

As soon as Yi said this, Shengbao, Ruilin, Shen Guifen and others all changed their expressions.

"What? The Tang thieves are heading west?"

"What should I do?"

"What does the Governor-General of Zhili say? Can we fight this war?"

"..."

Everyone was talking about it, and tension was visible on everyone's face.

Shengbao stood up and said.

"Your Majesty, I think the Qing Dynasty should send troops to reinforce Wuqing and stop the Tang thieves from advancing westward."

"I just came back from the border area not long ago. Although the border area is now undergoing large-scale reclamation under the command of Lord Gui Liang, it is still far from being able to feed the millions of people in my Qing Dynasty."

"It will take at least until next year before the land reclaimed outside the Great Wall is enough to feed the millions of people in our Great Qing."

"Before this, the capital must not be lost!"

Yi heard this and took a deep breath.

"Well, Shengbao is right."

"Who do you think I should send to lead the troops to reinforce Wuqing?"

"Where should we send troops to reinforce Wuqing?"

Yi knew how important the capital was to the current Qing Dynasty.

But he also knew that the Qing Dynasty’s current military strength was not sufficient.

Upon hearing this, Rui Lin took a deep breath and stood up to speak.

"Your Majesty, I think it's time to send out the Eight Banners New Army of the Qing Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)