Chapter 802: Public Resentment

"The Yan Wang army is about to attack Jinling. Read М"

At Niutou Beach, Zhao Xu, Chang Wei and other generals were planning to cross the river.

Luther stood by the river, holding a telescope to observe the Yan Wang's steamships and sailing warships.

Obviously, the only condition for the Yan Wang's army to cross the river is a fleet.

Now that the fleet has arrived, they will have no scruples to provide protection for the Yan Wang's army crossing the river.

"It's really shocking that a steamship can be seen in such a barbaric place." Luther said secretly.

After coming to Wu, he did not find any traces of industry here.

But across the river, the Yan Wang on the opposite side could actually build a steamship, which naturally made him feel very strange.

Originally, he still had some doubts, but after seeing the steamship with his own eyes, he could no longer question it.

At the same time, his mood could not help but become heavy.

This time he came to Wu, he didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse.

However, since he took the silver from Wu, he would lead the mercenaries to fight to the end.

Moreover, his purpose was not just to win.

As long as he can delay the King of Yan's southward march, buy time for Britain to reinforce, and consume the King of Yan's strength, his goal will be achieved.

"Prepare for a fight to the death!" He raised his voice, and said this to Xie Duan, Han Zheng and Wang Zian behind him.

The three were shocked by the arrival of the steamship, and they looked at each other after hearing this.

Xie Duan said: "Brother Han, Brother Wang, this time we have no way to retreat, we can only fight to the death with the King of Yan, I hope you two families can cooperate with our Xie family sincerely and fight to the death."

After a pause, he emphasized his tone, "If we lose Jinling, Sucheng and Songcheng will not be saved, and this unique grain-producing land of Dasong will fall into the hands of the King of Yan. At that time, both the Xie family army and the armies of your two families will have no food to eat."

Han Zheng and Wang Zian nodded solemnly.

They naturally knew the importance of Jinling.

During this period, they relied on the Ningzhou part of Jiangnan to survive until now.

"Brother Xie, please rest assured. No matter what the order is, our two families will carry it out to the end." Han Zheng said.

Xie An nodded and smiled.

Niutou Beach is only 40 miles away from Jinling City.

This beach is flat, which is most convenient for the enemy to cross the river and deploy the army.

Therefore, Luther established the Niutou Beach position in front of the trench fortifications.

After the enemy passed Niutou Beach, it was 20 miles east to the trench fortifications.

For the Niutou Beach position, there are more than 300 artillery positions.

The 150,000 soldiers guarding the trench fortifications on the west side of Jinling City will first participate in the battle here. If the battle is unfavorable, they will retreat to the trench fortifications.

Among these soldiers, 20,000 are mercenaries to prevent the King of Yan's army from moving south.

With Luther commanding on the battlefield, they couldn't help but have some confidence.

Perhaps, this time they can really defeat the King of Yan's army.

Now, they really need a victory to boost morale.

The four of them patrolled Niutou Beach again, and then checked the trench fortifications.

At the same time, Xie An sent cavalry to other cities along the river to raise their alert.

Prepare for this war.

…

Border of Jiangzhou and Zhejiang.

When the battle of Jinling was about to break out, Liang Kai, the princes, concubines, and ministers were heading towards Changcheng.

Because the mountain roads were difficult to march, Liang Kai, the princes, and concubines could not bear the hardship of walking.

So they decided to take the waterway and let the people pull the fleet that stretched for dozens of miles upstream on both sides of the Hengjiang River.

At the end of the Hengjiang River is Changhu Lake near Changcheng.

Changhu Lake is very huge, connected to Jiujiang to the north, and a tributary meanders eastward to Lincheng and finally merges into the sea.

"General Luther went to Jinling City, hoping to win the first battle." On the largest warship in the fleet, Prince Liang Feng and Liang Kai sat at the table on the deck.

Liang Feng poured a cup of tea for his father and spoke.

In the boat, a group of concubines were looking at both sides of the river, pointing and talking at the people who were walking naked on the river bank with difficulty.

Occasionally, a commoner would lose strength and fall into the river, which would cause a burst of laughter.

From Lincheng to the border of Jiangzhou, they had traveled all the way, and countless people had died in the Hengjiang River. They were used to it.

"General Luther has experienced hundreds of battles. There are only 400,000 soldiers and horses in Jinling, and 200,000 soldiers and horses supported by my Wu country. They will definitely be able to stop the troops of King Yan." When Liang Kai said this, it seemed like he was comforting himself.

Hearing the concubines laughing, he looked at the river bank and noticed the people who fell into the water.

Seeing this scene, there was no ripple in his eyes.

While withdrawing from Lincheng, he also asked the people of Lincheng to move west with him.

First, he did not want these people to be used by King Yan and become his helpers.

Second, if the troops suffered losses, they could still recruit strong men from the people.

Third, the huge fleet needed these people to tow.

After all, they were going upstream, unlike steamboats that could shuttle freely.

Since ancient times, any warship that relied on sails to go upstream could only rely on boatmen.

These people were boatmen.

The long fleet not only carried concubines, ministers and nobles, but also the wealth accumulated by his Liang family for nearly two hundred years.

Compared with these, the death of some people was nothing.

For him, if the Liang family and the Jiangnan nobles were dead, what was the point of leaving these people behind.

Moreover, due to the thousands of years of the clan system, the people were just cattle and sheep in their eyes.

"Father is right, we will definitely win." Liang Feng agreed, as if to comfort himself.

At this time, Liang Kai thought of something and said, "How is the migration of other coastal cities?"

"Replying to Father, everything is going on normally. According to General Luther's order, coastal officials also burned down the houses of coastal people and resolutely left nothing behind." Liang Feng smiled.

The King of Yan went south, and this battle was a life-and-death battle. As long as they could win, they didn't care about anything.

Moreover, because this war was very critical, Liang Kai also decided to reuse the Liang family.

He took the title of a general guarding the country and was responsible for the migration of coastal people.

"Well, very good." Liang Kai praised and laughed loudly.

It was impossible for the King of Yan to deceive the people and provide them with food and grass like in Qi.

Ten days later, the fleet entered Changhu and finally arrived in Changcheng.

...

At the same time, Baima County.

As more and more troop transport ships arrived in Jiujiang along the canal, the war clouds were dense in Jinling City.

These days, Zhao Xu and Chang Wei were waiting for the troop transport ship while discussing with the generals how to take over Jinling City at the lowest cost.

During this period, the four courtyard spies active in Jiangnan also continuously sent intelligence from Jiangnan.

Wu officials were forcing the people to migrate to inland cities.

Liang Kai and his party were heading to Changcheng. During the migration, many people died and public resentment gradually arose.

"The smoothbore guns of these six sailing warships have all been replaced with rifled guns with fierce firepower. Tomorrow morning, under their cover, we will attack Niutou Beach. According to the reconnaissance of the hot air balloon soldiers, the first battle in the south will be against the mercenaries. You must show your power to this king and let the Westerners know that we can still beat them to tears." No matter what Liang Kai was doing, he could not escape from Jiangnan after all.

So, Zhao Xu was too lazy to pay attention.

He never expected to defeat the powerful families by relying on coastal attacks.

In the end, it still depends on the army to go south.

Now, all preparations for war are in place, and the war is about to begin.

The next morning, the river breeze was a little chilly.

The muzzle shields on the sailing warships were raised, and the cannons were extended and aimed at Niutou Beach.