Chapter 24: Battle of Changsha (Part 2)

Changsha City is located on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River and is rectangular along the river. The Liuyang River flows into the Xiangjiang River from east to north. The Laodao River meets the Liuyang River in the north of the city. The southeastern part of the city and the west bank of the Xiangjiang River are mountains. Standing on the river is the famous Yuelu Mountain.

The Miaogao Peak in the south of the city is the barrier of the south gate of Changsha. The Chengnan Academy is famous all over the world, but at this time the academy is empty and the people are even more exhausted.

In the Pingyuan army, there were guns like a sea, densely packed rifle soldiers lined up and lined up and could not see the end, and blood and murderous aura filled the world.

On the stage, Prince Suzhi, General Jingxiang of Pingyuan Jingkou, worshipped the heaven and earth and drew his sword: "Look at the demons in the world, who can stop the attack of Pingyuan Army!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Thousands of soldiers roared into the sky, shaking the sky and shaking the earth.

Immediately, the Pingyuan army attacked Miaogaofeng and the battle in Changsha began.

The artillery fire roared, and balls of fire burst out from the Miaogaofeng forest. The fierce gunshots were unprecedented in China. The elite soldiers of Miaogaofeng were Zeng Guoquan and Jiziying, with excellent firearms and bravery. The generals of the Pingyuan Army who attacked were the most powerful general under Harricane Waitabu, who carried a sabre and led the way, like a wolf and tiger.

On a high ground far away from the battlefield, the leisurely citizens felt the arrival of war. Even a shell smashed the breakfast stall, scaring the crowd of citizens who drank soy milk. Fortunately, the shells were of poor quality and did not explode, otherwise they would be afraid that all the dozens of citizens would be made into meat sauce. As for the other places, there were probably dozens of civilians killed by fireworks.

Many of the leaflets scattered at the reconnaissance post were picked up by citizens and secretly circulated each other. When they saw that Pingyuan Army had "thousands of cannons, those who helped the evildoers would blow them into powder." The citizens were all in panic, and Lu Mingze's journey to conquer Ding became a problem, and few responded.

The Miaogaofeng defenders, who had already become the last of their power, were immediately defeated by the Pingyuan Army and were defeated. The Pingyuan Army took advantage of the situation to cover up and kill countless enemies. Zeng Guoquan was hit by stray bullets and was snatched into the city by his personal soldiers. That night, he vomited blood and died.

The Battle of Miaogaofeng was the most violent collision between the Pingyuan army and the enemy since the Guangzhou Battle, and it was also the formal showdown between the two major military groups of Pingyuan army and the Hunan Army. It had no advantage of artillery and had fought fiercely for several days and nights, regardless of patrol militia, the Pingyuan army infantry regiment paid the heavy price of killing more than a thousand people, which was the most tragic loss after the Second Opium War.

Ye Zhao was depressed, but he didn't know that the whole world was shocked. The Ji-Cai of the Hunan Army was almost wiped out in this battle. Zeng Guoquan, the Hunan Army's first powerful general, was killed in battle. Changsha City was completely exposed to the artillery fire of Pingyuan Army. Tens of thousands of Hunan troops in the city were in panic all day long, and the fall of Changsha was a foregone conclusion.

The next day, thousands of cannons roared, and the Pingyuan army began to bombard Changsha City. The materials and resources from Guangdong were continuously transported to Chenzhou along the railway line, and then from Chenzhou to the front line.

A few days later, a gunboat suddenly appeared in the Xiangjiang River on the bank of Changsha City. With no effort, the transport fleet from Yuezhou was overturned one by one. The warship carrying soldiers in the Hunan Navy had no power to fight back and was almost at slaughtered. Seeing a round of shells landing on the side of the ship and hitting the hull, the soldiers screamed and sank with the warship.

This is a small gunboat of a thousand-ton class by the Guangdong Navy. It disguised as a merchant ship and came along the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake. It suddenly appeared under Changsha City, bringing the waterway of Changsha City. The panic it brought was beyond words.

Pingyuan's army then launched a strong attack on Changsha City.

The Tianxin Pavilion in Nancheng was violently attacked by the Pingyuan Army's artillery fire. The flowering cannons were blown into pieces before they were on the battle formation. The South City Wall fell one after another. The Pingyuan Army engineers even ignited the detonator explosives buried early. The sky collapsed and the earth cracked loudly. A large area of ​​city wall collapsed amid the screams of the Hunan Army soldiers.

The city's powerful weapon is no longer as powerful as the former barrier under the Pingyuan military gunpowder.

The street fighting continued for a day and night, and only the occasional gunfire sounded. When Pingyuan's army cleared the enemy troops in the city, Prince Suzhi, and General Jinggang of Pingyuan Jingkou, entered the city, the gentry in the city organized people to welcome him.

In January 1859, Pingyuan's army defeated the Hunan Army and restored Changsha.

The two major military groups faced the front-line confrontation between the Pingyuan Army and the patrol militia group, with more than 5,000 casualties. The Hunan Army killed countless people and surrendered thousands. Zeng Guofan led hundreds of personal soldiers to flee to Yuezhou and gathered the remaining troops in Yuezhou. Hearing that he had cried bitterly on the way, he wanted to commit suicide to thank the world, but was stopped by his personal soldiers.

The second town of Pingyuan Army and the sixth town were immediately rested in Changsha. Su Jue Ye led a special camp composed of guard posts, patrols, militias, etc. to accept officials from various prefectures and prefectures to surrender.

In the same month, the fourth town of Pingyuan Army investigated Fuzhou, and the Huai Army retreated into Zhejiang. The green camp regiments from all walks of life in Zhejiang bravely besieged Dinghai but failed. Yuan Jiasan, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, suddenly led several officials to Guangzhou, surrender to the Southern Dynasty, and posted a report to the whole country.

The telegrams across the country are just the same as those under the rule of Pingyuan Army. In addition, commercial port newspapers in Shanghai, Tianjin, Yingkou and other places have also received telegrams, and several newspapers have been published in the first page in the most eye-catching location.

A large-scale delegation of Britain, France and the United States suddenly came to Guangzhou to meet Ye Zhao and the two empress dowagers. The chief representative of the delegation was Sir Bahrain who had just arrived in China.

The delegation's intention was clear. The dispute between China and the Northern and Southern Dynasties had seriously damaged the interests of businessmen in China, so they hoped to mediate peace talks between the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Chapter completed!