Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Taiping blood

Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 210: Battle of Wusong River

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    Wusongkou is located in Baoshan County, Jiangsu Province, where the Huangpu River and Wusong River merge into the Yangtze River. It is the primary position to defend the gateway to Shanghai and the Yangtze River.  In the 10th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, an earthen mountain was built in the county, 30 feet high, and a beacon fire was set up to serve as a navigation mark for ships, so it was called Baoshan.  In the tenth year of Wanli, Tushan and Baoshan City were destroyed by the tide, leaving only ruins.  During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, Baoshan New City was built northwest of the old site.  In the third year of Yongzheng's reign, the eastern border of Jiading was analyzed and Baoshan County was established, with Wusong as the county government.

    After the Opium War broke out in the 20th year of Daoguang's reign, Chen Huacheng, the governor of Jiangnan, was stationed. With the support of Yuqian, the former governor of Liangjiang, he actively prepared for the war and vigorously strengthened Wusong's defense.  A total of 26 earthen ponds were built on the six or seven-mile long river bank from Wusong Town to Baoshan County. They could not only defend against enemies but also provide hiding places. They were like a Great Wall. A total of 154 cannons were installed, collectively called the West Fort.  More than ten years after the Qing Dynasty's defeat in the Opium War, the West Fort has long been deserted. The ponds and forts are overgrown with weeds, and they have lost their former glory.

    ¡°But recently, there has been a riot in Shanghai involving Changmao. The people of Baoshan County were frightened, but they thought that Changmao was headed for Shanghai, so they had no intention of escaping.  The artillery fire in Shanghai lasted all night. After waking up in the morning, the people of Baoshan County found that Baoshan County had changed its owner overnight.  The streets were filled with long-haired men wearing red headscarves. These Hunan-Guangxi men with their pigtails cut off were extremely kind. Apart from arresting the corrupt officials and bullies in the city and executing them one by one, they did not do anything to the common people.  .

    Then the Changmao soldiers settled in Baoshan. After a few days, Changmao was published and hired civilians to rebuild the west fort. Many people in Baoshan City were grateful for Chen Huacheng's achievements and wanted to rebuild the fort. However,  Young men were recruited to work at the old fort site.

    The young men in Baoshan received their first payment of wages after a day of work. Changmao kept his word and the wages would never be owed.  Unlike those corrupt officials in the government who often deduct money and food from the people.

    The next day, more common people participated in the construction of the fort. On the entire six- or seven-mile long river bank construction site, there were no less than ten thousand civilians helping more than two thousand long-haired soldiers work.  The people in Baoshan discovered that many people had even come from Shanghai. When they asked about the situation in Shanghai, they found out that these were people who had escaped from Shanghai.  These poor people in Shanghai have suffered a lot in recent days. At first, the government and foreigners searched the city for members of the Xiaodao Society. Most of the people who were related to the Xiaodao Society were arrested and beheaded. Later, they were even more indiscriminately executed.  Kill innocent people.  The people in Shanghai City were so frightened that they did not even dare to go out.  Later, Changmao came, the government and foreigners were in chaos, and the people of Shanghai fled one after another. They did not want to be bombarded to death in the city.  It's a pity that these poor people fled to the foreign concession area but were stopped. It turns out that only rich people can enter the concession area.

    After spending a few days sleeping and sleeping in the open air on the wasteland rented by foreigners.  On this day, the foreigners sent troops to drive them away, and the people in Shanghai had almost eaten the rations they brought with them.  In the end, they were "captured" by Changmao who surrounded Shanghai.

    Fortunately, these long-haired dogs treat people very well.  Not only did they not burn, kill, and loot, but they gave the people food, and finally recruited the people to work as laborers in exchange for relief.  In this way, thousands of people from Shanghai City came to Baoshan to build the fort, and more people were recruited from Baoshan to the north of Shanghai City.  Along the way, Taiping Army fortresses and trenches were being built.

    A few days later, the west fort was repaired to perfection. Not only were the mounds and wooden fences of the fort reinforced, but three trenches were dug under the fort.  The long-haired soldiers placed bamboo sticks, pointed wooden sticks and other objects in the trenches, and also placed iron chains, iron bars and other objects in the Huangpu River and Wusong River to block them, and finally moved the cannons one by one to the fort.

    After completing these tasks, the people received their wages and were resettled in Baoshan County. The people knew that a fierce battle was coming.  Although these people have suffered enough from the war caused by Changmao's rebellion, deep down in their hearts they still hope that Changmao will win. At least Changmao will not kill people and rob things indiscriminately.

    Taiping general Lin Qirong, who was guarding the outskirts of Shanghai, took the time to build forts, barracks, and trenches. After the construction of the west fort was completed, he asked Taiping soldiers to disguise the fort, and Lin Qirong himself led 1,300 people to defend it.  Zhou Lichun built a slightly circular fort with 27 guns on the east bank of Wusongkou, which was called the East Fort.  Chen Zhiming led more than 1,000 troops to defend.  Behind the east and west forts, Li Tianxi led 700 troops to defend the sandy back northwest of Baoshan County to prevent the Qing army from finding another way to land and outflank them.  Zhou Lichun led more than 1,000 troops to defend Baoshan County as backup.

    As the day of the war approached, the Qing army sent more and more sentry ships in Jiangbei. One night, a group of Qing troops were even sent ashore to explore the road. Lin Qirong unceremoniously devoured them all. From then on, the Qing troops no longer dared to send any more ships.  Landing alone.

    In the early morning of this day, the sky was just getting bright. On the river where the Yangtze River, Wusong River, and Huangpu River converged, dozens of Qing fleets gradually appeared. The Taiping Army responsible for monitoring the north bank immediately discovered the enemy's situation. The scarlet  Battle flag horse?Swing back.

    After receiving the report, Lin Qirong, who was sitting in the tent, slowly opened his eyes, looked around at the generals, and shouted in a cold voice: "The enemy is here, everyone is waiting for you! Watch what I do with my flag!"

    Wu Quanmei, the staff general of the Guangdong Navy of the Qing Army, personally led thirty red single ships of the Guangdong Navy as the vanguard, launched an attack on Wusongkou, and headed towards Wusongkou from the Chongming Island anchorage. Thirty red single ships advanced in a flying geese formation.  , followed by dozens of Qing army ships and sailing ships transporting land camp soldiers and horses.  Within the boat formation were nearly a hundred crab boats, sand boats, and small boats. The Qing army fleet came overwhelmingly across the river. The flags on the boats were like a forest, hunting in the river wind. The trumpets and cannons of each boat were roaring.  The Qing army roared in unison, the sound shook hundreds of miles, and it was so majestic.

    After arriving at the Wusongkou River, Wu Quanquan ordered his red single boat to quickly rush across the Hengjiang Iron Chain, intending to rush into the Huangpu River, seize a favorable position, and launch artillery attacks on the suspected fort positions on the shore. Subsequent ships quickly destroyed the waterway.  The obstructions opened the way for the troop transport ship.

    The progress of the matter was very strange. When the red single ship of the Guangdong Navy rushed through the iron chain across the river and started firing randomly, the suspected fort on the embankment near Wusong Port was still quiet, as if they were asleep, and there was no return fire.  , no flags, gongs and drums, and no sound at all.

    Wu Quanmei sensed a murderous intention hidden in the silence, and quickly ordered the twelve red single boats to stop shelling, disperse the formations, and seize advantageous positions. The red single boats quickly followed up, put down the water ghosts, and began to clear the iron chains on the waterway.  .

    At three quarters of noon, the first obstacle was cleared. Wu Quanmei led the navy fleet of fifteen red single boats to rush towards the second obstacle chain. The water here was shallower, and the fifteen gunboats were one word long.  The Snake Formation moved in, and the remaining fifteen ships were cruising at the mouth of the river.

    At this moment, Wu Quanmei stood on the side of his boat, uneasily observing the behemoth-like earth pond fort on the shore with a monocular telescope. Originally, there was a blur of green in the telescope, because the ship moved farther and farther toward the shore.  Nearby, it gradually became clearer in the telescope.  Wu Quanmei saw a large piece of grass mat unique to China, which was densely covered with branches. A thought flashed through his mind: "I'm going to take your mother, that's the fort of the long-haired traitor!"

    At this moment, a low horn sound sounded, as if by magic, all the camouflage of the fort on the shore disappeared, the sharp whistle of artillery shells sounded, and dozens of artillery pieces from the Qing army's fort on the sand embankment fired at the same time, in the middle  The five red single boats were the first to be hit by bullets and caught fire. Wu Quanmei's boat was also hit by the first round of artillery fire. He was seriously injured and was rescued desperately by his men. When he got on the boat again, Wu Quanmei took a hard look at the chaotic sea.  On the battlefield, less than half of the fifteen red single ships could move. The Taiping Army's artillery was so fierce that it was not like the pirates he had encountered before!  "The long-haired thief was prepared, I was fooled." After this thought flashed through his mind, Wu Quanmei passed out.

    Fortunately, Wu Quanmei was cautious and did not let all the ships sail into the Huangpu River. The fifteen red single ships cruising in the periphery fired back one after another. The follow-up fleet naval guerrillas tried hard to adjust their deployment, but found that even the fifteen ships that followed up were  A single red ship was also within the artillery range of the Taiping Army. In fact, when the first barrier chain was destroyed in the morning, the Taiping Army could open fire to attack the fleet. The Taiping Army generals were able to endure until the afternoon, which shows their tenacity.  The thundering sound of artillery fire from both sides resounded across the Wusongkou River, and the seawater was filled with burning broken wood, canvas and the corpses of Qing army sailors.

    The Jiangnan Admiral and Chun Leng of the Qing Army on the large troop transport ship behind watched the fifteen red single ships in front of the second obstacle being sunk one by one. Their faces were gloomy and painful, but the cannon fire from the red single ships outside the river mouth  The Taiping artillery array behind the pond could not be destroyed and suppressed.  The artillery fire of the Taiping Army was dense and had a long range. It was definitely not the kind of bronze cannon used by the Taiping Army that they had fought with before. They must have traded with foreigners to purchase Western cannons!  He Chun couldn't imagine what would be waiting for him if he couldn't even board the south bank and would be defeated here. Emperor Xianfeng had recently issued very harsh words and even threatened the generals. If anyone fails to suppress the thieves,  Don't even think about surviving, don't think that I don't dare to kill!

    After a stick of incense, Wu Quanmei was rescued on He Chun's boat. After a simple rescue, he woke up leisurely. On the stretcher, he watched the battle and said helplessly to He Chun: "Junmen, long-haired rebels.  You are fierce and stubborn, you must occupy the fort, otherwise the fleet in front of the first chain will also be attacked."

    He Chun gave a heavy hum and said: "The beach on the west bank of the river mouth is not fortified by the Long-haired Rebels. I will send the land camp to land there and use the troops to cut off the Long-haired Rebels' retreat."

    Wu Quanmei said happily: "Everything has been solved." (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!</dd>
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report