Chen Gu was much more confident about Yunhua, and he also gave him 10,000 main combat troops, another 10,000 joint defense teams and 20,000 vassal troops, and asked him to return to Dongting Lake and then attack Hunan.

After the test of the Jingzhou Campaign, Chen Gu is ready to transfer the vassal army into the main combat force, and they will be re-equipped in batches this time.

After the troops were divided into three parts, Chen Gu was still left with 20,000 main forces, 10,000 vassal troops, and 10,000 elite soldiers of the joint defense team, a total of 40,000 people.

These troops are enough to attack the city of Wuchang, but in order to intimidate the imperial army in Hanyang and Hankou, especially the main force of the Qing army in Hanyang City, Lao Piao and Yunhua will not leave for the time being, but will wait until Chen Gu enters Wuchang before leaving.

The next day, Lao Piao excitedly led 20,000 main forces and 10,000 vassal troops across the Yangtze River, preparing to attack Wuchang.

There were only 10,000 defenders in Wuchang City, which had been abandoned by the imperial court.

The Qing court had no choice but to do this. Its own strength was inferior to that of the Huaxia tribe, and now its troops were equal. If it continued to garrison in three cities, it would only be defeated one by one by the Huaxia tribe. In this case, it would be better to concentrate its forces to garrison one city.

As long as they can hold one of the three towns in Wuhan, they will be able to control the Yangtze River. At least the thousand-jin cannons can bombard passing ships in the Yangtze River.

Although the accuracy of cannons in this era was not very good, ships were large and relatively easy to hit. Moreover, ships moved slowly, especially when sailing against the current, which gave the cannons more time to fire.

Therefore, from the perspective of the imperial court, as long as they concentrated their forces to defend a city, they would be able to prevent the Huaxia tribe from advancing. After all, even if your army ran over, your baggage would still need to be transported by ships, right?
It was not wrong to think so originally, but the Chinese army was powerful, and Jiangnan was a fertile land. The Qing Dynasty had enjoyed peace for more than a hundred years, so it was very easy to replenish food and grass. Even if there was no food in the government warehouse, there was plenty of food in the homes of the gentry.

As for armaments, in fact, we only need to replenish some ammunition. As long as we use it sparingly, after occupying Wuchang City, we can transport the armaments by land.

It was relatively easy for 20,000 main forces plus 10,000 vassal troops to attack an abandoned city. With the soldiers having no will to fight, Wuchang City was lost in less than half a day.

Chen Gu, who was watching from the other side, was furious, because it seemed as if Lao Piao was venting his anger on purpose and launched another rocket attack.

Zheng Ming and Lao Nian both smiled bitterly, and their eyes were full of resentment when they looked at Chen Gu.

Chen Gu gnashed his teeth and said, "I shouldn't have believed his lies. This guy must have done it on purpose. This is revenge for us limiting its military arsenal."

"You just realized it. I said not to let him lead the troops to attack Wuchang. If you feel tired from the journey, then let Yunhua lead the troops." Zheng Ming said in a faint voice.

Lao Nie sighed while sitting in his wheelchair and said, "Forget it, let him suffer for a while, otherwise he will go to Jiangxi with resentment in his heart, which would be bad!"

"Wait until I enter the city, and then I'll show you how I'll deal with him!" Chen Gu said gritting his teeth.

Not only were the people from the Huaxia tribe furious, but even Qinggui and others from Hanyang were stunned. For a moment, the front wall of Wuchang West Gate was engulfed in artillery fire.

Originally, Qinggui and his men wanted to wait until the battle situation became tense before attempting a surprise attack outside the city to see if they could gain some advantage. At the very least, they would have to send out a few warships to fire a few cannons at the Huaxia tribe to boost the morale of the Wuchang defenders.

But the siege ended just as it began. The Huaxia army did not fight for long after entering the city. Wuchang was an abandoned city. The defenders were already demoralized, and the artillery fire from Lao Piao completely destroyed their fighting spirit. The street fighting they had originally arranged did not work either. After Lao Piao led his men into the city, the defenders began to surrender one after another.

This completely deprived Qinggui and his men of the chance to rescue them, and naturally also made Chen Gu's plan to attack the reinforcements fail.

Fu Chang stood on the city wall, stunned, and murmured: "Why is the fighting of the Huaxia army so fierce?"

"Yes, with such fierce artillery fire, can Hanyang really be defended?" Jilakan's tone was full of bitterness.

Hong Feng frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Such a fierce artillery fire cannot last long. The bombardment just now only lasted for a moment, proving that they dare not overuse this siege method.

During the Battle of Jingzhou, the enemy also used such fierce artillery bombardment when attacking the camp in Shaxi Town, but it also lasted only a short moment. Later, when fighting against the Green Camp Army, against Song Jun's main force, and when pursuing Woshibu, they did not use such fierce means.

It just happens to prove that the enemy's artillery shells are not that sufficient. This method looks terrible, but in the battle, as long as you pay attention to evasion and persevere, you don't have to worry too much."

Qing Gui nodded and continued, “Armament is important, but it is not the only factor that determines victory or defeat on the battlefield. Terrain, weather, the combat effectiveness of soldiers, etc., will all determine the direction of a war.

The enemy's armaments have indeed left. If it is a wild battle in the wild, our army will naturally be at a disadvantage. However, if it is a street battle in the city, the gap in armaments will be greatly narrowed. After all, the enemy's rifle can kill a person with one shot, and our army's musket can also kill a person with one shot.

The mother-and-child cannon can kill a large number of people with one shot, so you don't have to be discouraged."

Hongfeng glanced at Qinggui, frowned, and asked, "It's been so long, and you can't even get a rifle?"

Qing Gui couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "The enemy's defenses are very strict. When they go out to fight, they always have ten people acting at the same time. There is no chance to attack at all."

"What about the people sent to Sichuan?" Fuchang asked.

"Then there is even less chance. The whole Sichuan is under martial law. An identity certificate would be difficult for the spies sent out, not to mention the checkpoints of the police that exist everywhere in Sichuan.

Anyone who enters will be arrested if they are not careful. There are no gambling houses, opium dens, or brothels in Sichuan now. The influence of the Huaxia Department has been extended to various towns. It is too conspicuous for outsiders to enter!" Qinggui said.

"With nothing, how do the people inside survive?" Hongfeng asked.

“Common people?” Qinggui looked at Hongfeng strangely and asked, “Do you think those places are accessible to ordinary people?
The people in Sichuan live well, but the gentry and the rich are the ones who can’t survive, and the bandit chieftains don’t really care what the gentry think.”

(End of this chapter)