Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

On the morning of January 18, 1857, Hong Tian, ​​under the protection of his guards, climbed the city wall of Tianjing City to personally witness the first battle fought by the Imperial Guard since its formation.

Although the Imperial Guards had already been involved in the fighting during the Tianjing Incident.

But that was an internal conflict within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. At the same time, the Imperial Guards also adopted a surprise attack, launching their offensive when the Northern King, Wei Changhui, was completely unprepared and had no idea what was happening.

Relying on their absolute superiority in weaponry and firepower, the Imperial Guards won this battle at minimal cost.

But this is different from the situation on the battlefield.

On the battlefield, both sides must form ranks and engage in a real, fierce battle.

Even though the Imperial Guards had an overwhelming advantage in weaponry and firepower against the Qing army, the Qing army still possessed an absolute numerical superiority.

It will likely be much more difficult for the Imperial Guard to achieve another glorious victory on the real battlefield.

According to the plan agreed upon by Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng, the 1st Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard was responsible for attacking Chunhua Town, which was the core of the Qing army's Jiangnan Camp and the main gathering place of the Qing army.

The two armies of the Eastern Expeditionary Army were respectively responsible for containing the Qing troops at Dasheng Pass and Xiaolingwei.

After the 1st Infantry Division of the Imperial Guards defeats the Qing army in Chunhua Town, they will cooperate with the Eastern Expeditionary Army to capture Xiaolingwei and Dashengguan.

The so-called Jiangnan Grand Camp was not a specific place, but rather a defensive line built by the Qing army south of Nanjing, using places like Dasheng Pass, Chunhua Town, and Xiaolingwei as strongholds to besiege Nanjing.

In order to blockade Tianjing and strangle the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Tartars amassed a large number of their main forces at the Jiangnan camp.

He Chun, as the Governor-General of Jiangnan, commanded the troops of the Jiangnan Grand Camp in his capacity as Imperial Commissioner. In addition to troops from Jiangsu Province, there were also troops from Jiangxi and Zhejiang Provinces.

That's why the Tartars were able to assemble so many troops at their camp in Jiangnan.

The Qing army mainly focused on blockading Nanjing and did not launch a rash attack.

Tianjing City was originally a fortified city, and it was also a key defensive point for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so there was a considerable number of Taiping soldiers inside the city.

The Tartars were well aware that conquering Tianjing City would not be easy.

If things go wrong, you might end up getting hurt here.

Therefore, Hechun will definitely prioritize lockdown.

After the Qing army achieved victory on other battlefields, it would then concentrate all its forces to besiege Tianjing, completely capture the city, and utterly destroy the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

During this period, the Qing army also deployed many scouts to closely monitor Tianjing City, ensuring that not even a fly could fly out of the city.

As a large number of Taiping troops left Tianjing (Nanjing), they were immediately discovered by Qing scouts.

The news quickly reached Hechun through the layers of communication.

As the Imperial Commissioner and Governor of Jiangnan, He Chun undoubtedly held a high position and wielded great power.

Even in heavily guarded military camps, there were always courtesans to keep them company.

After indulging in pleasure, He Chun naturally couldn't get up early.

It was Zhang Guoliang, the General Commander of Southern Jiangsu, who, knowing the urgency of the situation, personally pulled Hechun out of bed.

"Generals, what has happened?" He Chun asked, yawning.

"Your Excellency, the scouts report that the Taiping rebels have left the city. They are expected to launch an attack on us soon," Zhang Guoliang reported.

"What? The Taiping rebels have left the city on their own initiative? How dare they! Are they courting death?" Upon hearing this news, He Chun's sleepiness vanished instantly.

Although he was fond of pleasure, he also knew that the war was of utmost importance.

If we lose the battle, we might lose our lives and even our means of livelihood. How can we enjoy ourselves then?

However, the Taiping army's initiative to launch an attack outside the city was unexpected by He Chun.

After the Jiangnan Grand Camp was rebuilt, the Taiping Army retreated back to Nanjing and held their ground. They dared not leave the city to fight at all, but now they are behaving in a completely different manner.

"My lord, I believe that the long-haired man is desperate and resorting to such measures. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone a person."

After the Jiangnan Grand Camp was rebuilt, Jiangning City was completely surrounded by us.

Long Spear also knew very well that if they continued to be surrounded like this, they would soon run out of ammunition and food.

Therefore, they had no choice but to take the risk.

"This was said by Zhou Tianshou, the General Commander of Northern Jiangxi."

He Chun nodded repeatedly, agreeing with this viewpoint.

"My lord, this is actually a good thing for us. If the Taiping rebels had stayed in Jiangning City, we wouldn't have been able to do anything about them for the time being. But now that they've voluntarily left the city, aren't they courting death?"

We can concentrate our superior forces to encircle and annihilate them.

Once the main force of the Taiping rebels is annihilated, it will be much easier to attack Jiangning City.

Perhaps we will soon be able to storm Jiangning City and capture Little Hong and the other leaders of the Long-haired Rebels alive.

This is a great achievement!

Deng Shaoliang, the governor of Zhejiang Province, proposed this.

He Chun's eyes lit up when he heard these words.

If we could capture Nanjing and take down the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's top leaders, that would be the greatest achievement in the war to annihilate the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!

At that time, all the riches and honors will be within easy reach.

This made He Chun very excited.

Getting promoted and making a fortune was the goal of every Qing Dynasty official, and when such an opportunity was presented to them, they certainly wouldn't let it go.

"All generals, listen to my command! Since the Taiping rebels are courting death, let us grant their wish. Let us use this battle to annihilate their main force in one fell swoop. Then, we will break through Jiangning City and capture all the bandit leaders."

At that time, I will naturally report to His Majesty, requesting that you be rewarded for your merits.

Furthermore, I promise that after capturing Jiangning, the sword will not be shelved for three days!

He Chun officially issued the order.

The promise to commend these generals was naturally intended to motivate them to work even harder in the upcoming battles.

The promise to keep the swords unsheathed for three days after capturing Tianjing was naturally meant to reward the ordinary Qing soldiers.

At that time, they can go on a killing spree in Tianjing City, burning, killing, and looting.

In another timeline, didn't the Xiang Army do the same thing after capturing Nanjing?

"Thank you, sir!" The Qing army generals were incredibly excited, as if they could already see a wealth of military achievements within their grasp. Wealth and glory were just around the corner.

As for how many people will die in this war, and whether those killed are their compatriots, no one cares at all.

In the eyes of these people, everyone in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, from the army to ordinary people, was a rebel, a traitor who deserved to die!

And all of them were loyal subjects of the Qing court!

"Deng Shaoliang, muster your troops and prepare for battle," He Chun ordered.

"Yes, Your Excellency obeys!" Deng Shaoliang went off to prepare excitedly.

"Zhang Guoliang, Zhou Tianshou, you two will be stationed at Xiaolingwei and Dashengguan respectively. Once I have defeated the Taiping rebels, you will quickly send troops to attack them and cut off their retreat." He Chun then issued the order.

"Yes, Your Majesty, we obey!" Zhang Guoliang and Zhou Tianshou replied in unison.

"The day will be the day to crush the Taiping rebels!" He Chun was extremely excited, as if he could already see the Qing army defeating the Taiping army and entering Nanjing.

The 1st Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard set off from Tianjing City and headed straight for Chunhua Town.

However, before they even reached Chunhua Town, they were stopped by the Qing army's defenses.

In an effort to starve out Nanjing, the Qing army dug trenches and built numerous camps outside the city.

A large number of Qing troops were stationed in these camps.

This tactic originated from the Hunan Army.

The Taiping army's offensive was fierce, and few Qing troops were able to withstand it.

Faced with the formidable Taiping Army, Zeng Bohan, the leader of the Xiang Army, devised a tactic of "building strongholds and fighting a protracted war".

This involved building sturdy fortified camps and digging trenches around them to defend against the Taiping Army's attacks.

This tactic is very effective.

This allowed this tactic to flourish within the Qing army.

After the Qing army rebuilt the Jiangnan Grand Camp, it adopted the same tactics.

"The Tartars' defensive line is just ahead. We need to break through their lines before we can launch an attack on Chunhua Town!" Colonel Sun Qiming, commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard, reported.