Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

"Your Majesty, the Southern Expeditionary Army, along with the 1st Army of the Eastern Expeditionary Army and the 2nd Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard, have achieved victory on the battlefield in northern Jiangxi. The main force of the Jiangxi Army was annihilated by us in Raozhou Prefecture, and the main force of the Hunan Army, seeing the unfavorable situation, has already retreated in advance."

The governor of Jiangxi Province, Qi Ling, also abandoned the city and fled.

Both Nankang Prefecture and Nanchang Prefecture are now under our control.

Currently, we have occupied Jiujiang Prefecture, Raozhou Prefecture, Nankang Prefecture, and Nanchang Prefecture in northern Jiangxi Province. Almost half of Jiangxi Province is under our control!

Military Minister Shi Dakai, the Wing King, reported.

After the Western Expeditionary Army achieved a great victory on the battlefield in Anhui Province, Shi Dakai ordered the three armies of the Western Expeditionary Army, plus the 1st Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard Army, to advance up the Yangtze River and attack Hubei Province.

With the situation completely changed, there was no longer any need for him to remain in Anqing, so he returned to Tianjing City.

Hong Tian nodded in satisfaction.

Having fought to this point, it can be said that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has achieved a great victory in this phase of the war.

The Tartars have lost more than 200,000 troops in total.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had achieved decisive victories on the battlefields of southern and northern Jiangsu, as well as in Anhui and northern Jiangxi.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's army is still launching an attack on Hubei Province.

However, it was foreseeable that the Hubei army would be unable to withstand the attack of the main force of the Taiping army.

In particular, the troops that invaded Hubei Province included elite units such as the 1st Infantry Division of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Imperial Guard.

"Very good. Order the 2nd Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard to garrison Jiujiang Prefecture to guard against the Xiang Army. Order the 1st Army of the Eastern Expeditionary Corps to garrison Nanchang Prefecture and the surrounding area to wipe out the remaining Qing forces."

The 1st and 2nd Armies of the Southern Expeditionary Army continued their southward advance, taking advantage of the Tartars' weakened military presence in Jiangxi Province to capture Ruizhou Prefecture, Guangxin Prefecture, Fuzhou Prefecture, Linjiang Prefecture, Yuanzhou Prefecture, Ji'an Prefecture, Jianchang Prefecture, Ningdu Prefecture, Ganzhou Prefecture, and Nan'an Prefecture. The goal was to take the entire Jiangxi Province!

Hong Tian gave the order.

With the Qing army already suffering heavy losses, this presented the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with a golden opportunity to seize the entire Jiangxi province.

At the same time, this can also open up the road to the south to Guangdong and Guangxi.

Once the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had absorbed the vast territories it had acquired in this battle, it would certainly move south to Guangdong and Guangxi.

Especially when the British and Gauls attacked Guangdong Province and even captured the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ye Mingchen, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could have rescued the people from the rule of the foreign devils.

This would undoubtedly allow the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to further win the hearts and minds of the people here.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Shi Dakai replied.

Hong Tian undoubtedly hoped that he could take all of Anhui Province, Jiangxi Province, the entire Jiangsu Province, and parts of Hubei Province and even Hunan Province in this battle.

This would greatly expand the territory controlled by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the population would also increase significantly.

If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could change its previous bandit tactics and implement effective rule over these areas.

This would greatly strengthen the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

In this era, Jiangsu Province had a population of over 40 million, Anhui Province had a population of over 30 million, and Jiangxi Province had a population of over 20 million.

The total population of these three provinces alone is over 100 million.

If we also include the part that occupies a small portion of Hubei Province and the northern part of Hunan Province.

The population within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's actual controlled area would exceed 12 million.

Not to mention that after this battle, once the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has had time to digest the situation, it can continue to advance into Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, and even the southwest region.

At that time, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be able to truly occupy more than half of the country.

This would give the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom a greater advantage in its confrontation with the Manchus.

The balance of power between the two sides will undergo fundamental changes step by step.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will far surpass the Manchus in overall strength!

"How's the situation in Hubei Province?" Hong Tian asked.

"Your Majesty, our army has already captured Huangzhou and Wuchang."

The main force of the Hubei army, which was originally attacking Wuchang, has withdrawn from Wuchang Prefecture and returned to Hanyang Prefecture under the command of Governor-General Wen of Huguang and Governor-General De'an of Hubei Province.

The Hunan Army troops in Hubei Province also began to retreat, withdrawing to western Hubei and Hunan Province.

Shi Dakai answered.

Originally, the Western Expeditionary Army was on the defensive in Hubei Province, having only occupied the isolated city of Wuchang.

Furthermore, it was under blockade and encirclement by the Qing army.

Even the waterways were blocked by the Xiang Army's navy.

However, after this battle, the Taiping army was fully capable of opening up the land route to Wuchang. They could even take advantage of the situation to occupy the eastern and southern parts of Hubei Province, ensuring the establishment of a stable rule there.

Hong Tian nodded repeatedly, very satisfied with the progress on the Hubei battlefield.

"Excellent! It seems we'll not only be able to take over Wuchang Prefecture this time, but also Huangzhou Prefecture to the east and Hanyang Prefecture to the north. If all goes well, we can then head south to Hunan Province, capture Yuezhou Prefecture in northern Hunan, and establish a solid bridgehead in Hunan!"

Prepare for the next phase of a large-scale offensive against Hunan Province.

Over the years, the Xiang Army has grown increasingly powerful, posing a greater threat to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom than other Qing army units.

And Hunan Province, being the stronghold of the Hunan Army, will inevitably become our next major target!

Hong Tian demanded.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Shi Dakai nodded.

In reality, ordinary people in Hunan Province did not want to fight, nor did they want to be enemies with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Many of them were simply misled by Qing officials and local gentry.

People in this era had very limited access to information and were easily fooled and deceived by the government.

Officials and landlords in Hunan Province smeared the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, claiming that if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom entered Hunan Province, everyone's property would be confiscated, and even wives and daughters would not be spared.

Furthermore, they would be forced to shave their heads.

The rule of the Tartars has lasted for more than two hundred years.

Over the past two hundred years, people have long been accustomed to wearing queues.

Many people have even developed a deep-rooted belief that once they cut off their queues, they can't even be buried in their ancestral graves.

This is undoubtedly unacceptable to many people in this era.

To defend their homes and clans, they were naturally willing to risk their lives to fight against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

In reality, it was just the government and those landlords and rich people luring them to risk their lives.

If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom wanted to solve this problem, it would still need to use its powerful military force to invade Hunan Province, defeat the Hunan Army, and eliminate all those officials and landlords.

Then, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's policies were fully implemented throughout Hunan Province, letting the poor people know that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was not their enemy and would not harm them.

Conversely, it would also allow them to live a life free from oppression by the Tartars and the government, and free from exploitation by landlords and wealthy people.

It is believed that when the truth comes out, the people of Hunan Province will finally realize the truth.

Although the war was not over, the various legions of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom continued to launch attacks on the Qing army.

But what is certain is that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had won a great victory in this battle.

The Qing army had already suffered disastrous defeats on the battlefields of southern Jiangsu, northern Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi provinces.

On the battlefield in Hubei Province, the Qing army also found it difficult to withstand the Taiping army's attacks.

During the four- to five-month war, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom once again repelled the Qing army's siege from multiple directions and won the war.

Furthermore, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom expanded its territory further this time, especially by establishing areas of actual control.

Through this battle, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom grew even stronger.

In contrast, the Tartars suffered heavy losses.

With this shift in power, it naturally became much more difficult for the Manchus to suppress and annihilate the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Everything was developing in a way that was favorable to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.