On the evening of November 13th, 1788, in Jiangning, the Two-Jiang Governor's Mansion.
A group of high-ranking Qing government officials from Su Province gathered there once again.
However, Jiangning General Feng Kun's face was exceptionally grim.
He insisted on defending Jiangning City to the death and fighting a decisive battle with the Northern Army.
But in the battle on the Yangtze River that he personally commanded today, the Qing army's performance was like a slap in the face.
Facing the fierce artillery barrage of the Northern Army, the Qing army simply collapsed.
So much so that when the Northern Army crossed the river afterwards, they encountered almost no resistance.
This undoubtedly made Feng Kun feel very ashamed.
"Your Excellencies, what should we do now? The rebels have crossed the river. They have gathered a large number of troops outside the city, and they have deployed a large number of artillery. It looks like they will attack the city soon. "
"What else can we do? Things have come to this. We have no choice but to fight the rebels to the death. Although we failed to prevent the rebels from crossing the river, we have at least gathered over one hundred thousand troops within Jiangning City. The rebels won't find it easy to take Jiangning City. Even if they have a big appetite, they will have to lose a few teeth!" Jiangning Deputy Commander Lian Qing gritted his teeth and said.
Jiangning General Feng Kun and Jingkou Deputy Commander Zhong Yun also nodded repeatedly.
But Jiangnan Inspector-General Tan Bi Li remained silent.
This was because he had previously led his troops to a series of defeats, resulting in the revocation of his command.
Zeng Guo Quan, Tan Bi Li, and Su Province Governor Gang Yi could only nod in agreement.
But at that moment, a Qing army officer walked in.
"Report to Your Excellencies, the rebels have launched many leaflets into the city from outside, and they are written with slogans like 'Surrender and you shall not be killed,' 'Surrender your weapons and you shall be spared,' and so on!" the officer reported.
"What?"
The several high-ranking Qing officials were shocked.
They all knew very well that the Qing army's morale had already fallen to an all-time low.
If their spirits were further affected by the information on these leaflets, the consequences would be obvious.
Perhaps, the Qing soldiers might directly surrender on the battlefield.
"Hurry! Immediately confiscate all the leaflets to prevent them from affecting morale!" Feng Shen immediately ordered.
"General, it's too late! The rebels have launched a lot of leaflets, and they have probably spread throughout every camp by now!" the officer replied.
"Damn it! Those damned rebels are so despicable!" Feng Kun cursed.
But at this moment, he had no way to stop it.
"Immediately search for all leaflets and prohibit anyone from discussing this matter. Anyone who discusses this matter will be punished for disrupting morale!" Zeng Guo Quan ordered.
"Yes!" the officer replied.
But even so, the Qing army inside Jiangning City was filled with anxiety.
Even the officers, generals, and officials, besides the ordinary soldiers, couldn't help but discuss this matter.
After all, the Qing army's fighting ability was simply too trash.
So, everyone had no confidence at all in whether the Qing army could resist the Northern Army's attack.
If surrendering to the Northern Army could save their lives.
Perhaps, many Qing soldiers, even officers and generals, would surrender.
It can be said that the Northern Army, with this move, once again dealt a heavy blow to the already extremely low morale of the Qing army.
If the Qing army had already lost its will to fight before.
Then this time, the Qing army could be considered completely on the verge of collapse.
The next day, early in the morning, the Northern Army launched its attack on Jiangning City.
The Northern Army's 3rd Infantry Division and 10th Infantry Division, consisting of four infantry regiments and two artillery regiments, served as the main force of the attack.
The rest of the cavalry regiments, reconnaissance regiments, and so on were scattered around to gather intelligence and prevent the Qing army from escaping.
Taking Jiangning was just the first step.
Next, they had to capture the Su Nan region.
Then, they had to launch attacks on the various southern provinces.
Annihilating more Qing troops would make it easier for them to fight in the future.
At 8:00 am, the Northern Army's artillery began shelling Jiangning City.
The targets of the shelling were mainly Jiangning's city walls, to inflict casualties on the defenders on the walls.
Although the Qing army had also deployed many cannons on the city walls of Jiangning City.
However, these cannons were far inferior to the Northern Army's latest cannons in terms of both range and power.
So much so that after several rounds of shelling by the Northern Army, the city walls of Jiangning City were littered with corpses.
The Qing soldiers on the city walls, who had suffered heavy losses and whose morale was almost broken, fled to the bottom of the walls, no longer daring to go up.
And the Northern Army's engineers immediately moved out.
These engineers, under the cover of their own firepower, rushed to the bottom of the city walls and buried a large number of explosives.
"Boom!"
When these explosives were detonated, a violent explosion shook the entire city of Jiangning.
In the explosion, the eastern city wall of Jiangning City was directly blown down, creating a gap 50-60 meters long and wide.
Many Qing soldiers stationed at the bottom of the city wall were buried alive, and many more were injured with head wounds and blood loss.
At this moment, the minds of many Qing generals were filled with one sentence: Jiangning City is doomed!