The Eight Banners Cavalry with eyes on their heads looked down on this group of "bandits" from the bottom of their hearts. In the eyes of the Qing army, in fact, only 300 cavalry would be enough to flatten them.

Even though, in Tianchang, he was subjected to fierce resistance from this team.

But firearms are indeed different from cold weapons, and their skills and tactics and strength have become secondary.

A musketman who has been trained for three months is enough to fight against a cavalry who has been trained for three or five years, and even before the cavalry can get close.

The "fireworks" in Erli are very dazzling, like a fireworks show.

For bystanders, it is more like "welcoming" the arrival of Qingqi.

But the Qing cavalry trapped in it really suffered a lot.

The caltrops that were splashing everywhere were slaughtered on an unobstructed road, which could not be stopped by human power or technology. For a moment, the explosion was accompanied by the howlings of ghosts and wolves and wailings of the Qing soldiers.

Fortunately, the Qing cavalry was chasing the snake formation, which made the Qing army's front very long, far exceeding the range of killing that the caltrops could produce. Otherwise, this Qing cavalry would have been taken over by the Huang brothers.

But even so, when the Huang brothers counterattacked the remaining enemies, the already panicked Qing army had to retreat to Tianchang. Tianchang was a small city and could not stop for a while, so the Qing army could only go out of the city and retreat westward.

The Huang brothers were eager to make contributions and insisted on expanding the results of the battle, so they naturally followed closely.

At this time, the enemy reinforcements from Sizhou arrived, and the Huang brothers, who were in high morale, were caught off guard.

The remnants of the Qing cavalry, who were stabilized by reinforcements, immediately surrounded Huang Dachun's troops.

When the entire army was about to be wiped out, under the order of Wu Zheng, Shi Kun led the first army of 4,000 people to Tianchang in time.

So in a melee, Shi Kun's troops blocked the enemy with tigers and squatted cannons, stagnated the enemy, and then fired muskets with several rounds of gunfire, defeated the Qing army and rescued the remnants.

Unfortunately, Huang Dachun's troops were in front of the battle and escaped by this time, with only more than 100 people left. Huang Dachun, the second son of the Huang family, was seriously injured in the final battle and died without treatment.

At this point, the Huang family only left their third son Huang Dahong.

As a result of this battle, Tianchang was already targeted by Ajige, and a large number of Qing troops rushed from Linhuai. Shi Kun led his troops to move north as Wu Zheng's instructions before departure.

At this time, Chi Erhan, who was transferred by Wu Zheng, also led 3,000 people to Tianchang.

In a mere land, more than 7,000 troops were gathered, and the sky was too small to hold on.

After Chi Erhan discussed with Shi Kun, he moved to Beichengmen Township and Bei'a Town, but his real goal was Hengyang!

....

At this point, Wu Zheng, the initiator, has begun to show his strategic purpose.

His ultimate goal was not Dingyuan occupied by Li Guo, nor was it Haizhou that was captured by Jixiha and Lan Bai, nor was it Anqing and Luzhou prefectures discussed with Li Guo, Li Dingguo, Xia Wanchun and others.

Hengyang is a capital of Hengzhou. The Ming Dynasty established the vassal state of Guiwang, and the capital was Hengyang.

Although it is just a small city, the city is tall and thick, like a military pass.

No one paid attention to Hengyang, and the Qing court was no exception. Everyone's eyes were staring at Fengyang Prefecture and Haizhou in the northeast of Huai'an. Even Ajige also regarded the problem of scabies, just wanted to grab the grass and beat the rabbit and sweep it by the way.

But in fact, from beginning to end, Wu Zheng has always been Hengyang.

As the head coach of the first army and the strong vassal of the side, what Wu Zheng needs now is no longer a victory in a battle.

Confidence is important, but it is more important.

The Qing court had already set various strategic materials as prohibited and strictly controlled the Southern Transportation, so Wu Zheng had to respond.

At this time, it was not like the global integration in later generations, and the implementation of a trade war hurts others and oneself. Now it is an agricultural society. Even if the Qing court cut off all trade with the south, it could still be self-sufficient. Therefore, the biggest victims of the embargo were the Jiangnan Military Workshop and the Weaving Department.

This is what Wu Xiaomei said when she asked Wu Zheng, "No matter what the war is going to, the General's Mansion cannot take the initiative to cut off trade between the north and the south."

Because once it is cut off, the Jiangnan Weaver Department will collapse and the livelihoods of millions of weaver girls will be gone.

Wu Zheng agreed to Wu Xiaomei at that time because he knew the seriousness of the matter.

To be precise, the improvement of productivity in Jiangnan is based on the large amount of goods produced, and people from the north and northwest pay for it. The consumption of Jiangnan and the purchase of foreign merchants alone can no longer support Jiangnan's production.

Wu Zheng knew that now was indeed not the best time for the Northern Expedition, but this matter was not politics, but economy, and it was the foundation for the General's Mansion to survive.

Just imagine, once the goods produced by a large number of workshops are seriously hoarded, the workshop owners who have developed with the help of Hanming Bank's loans have to choose to shrink their scale or even go bankrupt.

Then, the impact brought about will be like an avalanche, becoming bigger and bigger, and sinking until it drags down the General's Mansion.

Since ancient times, the loyalty of the people has been relative. If the vital interests are hurt, the government will be regarded as a enemy.

Wu Zheng has always understood this principle very well.

Therefore, Wu Zheng set up this plan, which was originally intended to counterattack the Qing court's embargo on the south and force the Qing court to change its policies.

Using Guangxinwei as bait, it formed a trend of swallowing Fengyang, Luzhou and Anqing. Of course, in fact, these three prefectures were indeed thought about day and night for the Jianxin Dynasty. When it was fake, it was true and false. It used a strategic purpose of speciousness to attract the attention of the Qing court to Fengyang Prefecture, and at the same time restrained the main force of the Ajige army.

In the direction of Haizhou, Wu Zheng always believed that with Jiang Quanyi's ability and thousands of veterans, even if tens of thousands of enemies attacked, it would be no problem to stick to the rescue.

In this way, both west and north have guarantees that Wu Zheng can operate with confidence.

As a result, a small army in the direction of the sky became the most secret piece to break the deadlock.

The distance between Hengyang is very close, and the Qing army is only one Niulu in Hengyang, with three or five hundred people defending. The Tianchang defender can easily capture Hengyang City in one day. Then, if Hengyang is used as a frontier base, the troops can directly point to Sizhou.

If you get Sizhou, the Qing army in Fengyang Prefecture will be torn apart by the north and south, and Ajige will face a choice.

He had only two choices, one was to defend Linhuai and Fengyang and wait for the Qing court to reinforce, but it was difficult for the Qing court to do this, because Xuzhou and Yanzhou were in the hands of Dorbo. Whether Dorbo was willing to accept the will of the Qing court was also considered another saying that even if he accepted it in the end, it would require the conditions and time for compromise with both sides. This time difference was enough for the Northern Expedition Army to launch a strong attack on Fengyang.

You should know that now part of Li Dingguo's Western Army has entered northern Huguang and is waiting for Henan.

Liao Zhongping's Zuoying had crossed the river to Liuhe and was marching towards Chuzhou as a strong backing for Li Guoguang Xinwei.
Chapter completed!