“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The cannons roared, and the old city walls of Huai'an Prefecture were already crumbling under the intense bombardment of the Beiyang Army.
A large number of Beiyang Army infantrymen were already itching for a fight, waiting to storm the city once the walls collapsed.
The Qing soldiers in Huai'an City were ashen-faced, as if the end of the world was about to come.
“Your Excellency, we can't hold on! Our brothers can't hold out any longer.
The city wall is about to be blasted down by the rebels. If we continue to defend, our brothers will all die here!”
A general looked terrified.
Tan Bi Li, the Governor of Jiangnan, had a look of despair on his face.
He had previously led over 100,000 troops from the Southern provinces to engage in a major battle with the Beiyang Army at Xuzhou Prefecture and Haizhou Prefecture.
But although the Beiyang Army was smaller in number, their combat effectiveness was far superior to the Qing forces!
As a result, the Qing Army suffered heavy losses in the battle and was forced to flee to Huai'an Prefecture.
But who knew that the Beiyang Army would pursue them relentlessly.
“Order all units to abandon their positions and break out to the south!” Tan Bi Li finally gave the order.
He had no intention of sharing the fate of Huai'an City. Since they couldn't defeat the Beiyang Army, they had to find a way to escape first.
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
The Qing commanders breathed a sigh of relief.
These Qing soldiers had long lost their courage to fight after repeated defeats.
The Beiyang Army's intense artillery fire and powerful firepower had become almost invincible in the minds of these Qing soldiers.
Many Qing soldiers simply fled at the sight of the Beiyang Army, let alone fighting them desperately.
Faced with the Beiyang Army's attack, the Qing Army chose to flee Huai'an Prefecture as quickly as possible.
This thwarted the Beiyang Army's 3rd and 7th Infantry Divisions' plans to annihilate the Qing Army here.
The two Beiyang Army infantry divisions had to pursue them south again.
Many of the Qing Army's fleeing soldiers were caught by the Beiyang Army and could not escape.
These Qing soldiers were very straightforward and simply knelt down and surrendered.
To expect them to fight to the death was impossible.
For the meager pay the Qing government gave them, they were not going to risk their lives to fight!
These Qing soldiers choosing surrender instead of a desperate fight actually made things easier for the Beiyang Army.
They only needed to leave a small number of troops to guard the prisoners, and the rest could continue the attack.
Under these circumstances, the two infantry divisions of the Beiyang Land Forces advanced rapidly, capturing Huai'an Prefecture and heading straight for Yangzhou Prefecture.
It wouldn't be long before they would capture Yangzhou Prefecture and reach the banks of the Yangtze River.
Su Province, Jiangnan, the Two-Jiang Governor's Office.
The Two-Jiang Governor Zeng Guo Quan, the Jiangnan Governor Tan Bi Li who had fled from the front lines, the Su Province Governor Gang Yi, the Jiangning General Feng Shen, the Jiangning Deputy Commander Lian Qing, and the Jingkou Deputy Commander Zhong Yun were all gathered here.
It could be said that all the top military and political officials in Su Province were present.
As one of the nine governors of the Qing Empire, the Two-Jiang Governor was undoubtedly a high-ranking official with great power.
After all, the Two-Jiang Governor's jurisdiction included not only Su Province but also Anhui Province and Jiangxi Province.
The position of Jiangning General was nominally the highest.
Not only was he a high-ranking official of the first rank, he also had the power to directly submit memorials to the Emperor, which was also a way for the Qing government to supervise local officials.
However, now, these high-ranking Qing officials were all as if their mothers had died.
“Gentlemen, the rebels have captured Yangzhou Prefecture. At most two days, they will be on the banks of the Yangtze River. Although the Yangtze is known as a natural barrier, in this season, the water is shallow and the river channel is narrow. And the rebels' artillery is so fierce that even if we gather our main forces to defend, I fear we will not be able to withstand it!” The Jiangnan Governor Tan Bi Li was filled with worry.
“Then what are we to do? We can't just hand over the entire Su Province, the entire Jiangnan, to the rebels, can we? The court has ordered us to defend the cities and fight the rebels to the death!” The Two-Jiang Governor Zeng Guo Quan was somewhat exasperated.
He was the younger brother of Zeng Guo Fan, and he had been known for his ruthless cruelty during the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion.
After capturing Nanjing, he had ordered a massacre of the city, killing many innocent civilians.
But now, he was old, and facing the attack of the Beiyang Army, he seemed powerless to resist.
“In Jiangning City, there are still thousands of Eight Banners troops. Adding to that, the tens of thousands of troops who retreated from the front lines, and the reinforcements drawn from Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces, we can still gather 100,000 troops.
The rebels who invaded Su Province are only 30,000 or 40,000.
I don't believe that with 100,000 of us, we can't defeat them!
This time, we will fight a decisive battle with the rebels in Jiangning.
For the sake of the Qing Dynasty, we will fight the rebels to the death.
Anyone who is afraid of the enemy and runs away, don't blame this general for cutting off his head!”
Jiangning General Feng Shen had a look of murderous intent.
As a Manchu, the Qing Dynasty was their own!
Feng Shen naturally had to do everything in his power to preserve the Qing Dynasty.
“That's right, we will gather our forces and fight the rebels here!” Jiangning Deputy Commander Lian Qing echoed.
Jingkou Deputy Commander Zhong Yun also nodded repeatedly.
“Very well, we will fight the rebels here, and we must resist them, defend Jiangning, and defend the south of Su Province and even the entire Jiangnan region!” Seeing this, Zeng Guo Quan had no choice but to make a decision.