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"Boom! Boom! Boom!" In the south of Hankou City, the 5th Brigade, the 23rd Brigade and the 41st Brigade of the Imperial Army were ready to attack. On the artillery positions, 24 105mm light howitzers from the heavy artillery battalion of the military and the 72 75mm field guns from the artillery battalion of the three brigades were firing violently into Hankou City. On the river surface, 12 "shark-class" cruisers from the 2nd Squadron of the Navy's Yangtze River Fleet were also firing fiercely towards Hankou. The power of the navy's naval guns is much more powerful than the howitzers used by the army.

A total of nearly 200 large-caliber heavy artillery fired violently at Hankou City, and the fires exploded in the city. Fortunately, when the Chinese Empire confronted the Qing Dynasty, there were not many residents in Hankou City. At the beginning of yesterday, the few residents in the city fled. At this moment, the remaining people in the city were basically the officers and soldiers of the Qing army and the families of those officers. Therefore, the Imperial Army launched a large-scale shelling of Hankou without worrying about hurting the innocent.

"Boom!" A house located beside the city wall was hit by artillery shells. The brick-and-wood house could not withstand the fierce artillery fire at all. The roof was blown away during the explosion. The entire house became a ruin in the explosion. Many Qing soldiers hiding inside were even killed. The 9th Army of the Qing army did not build many fortifications except the city wall in Hankou City. In this case, they could not resist the violent artillery attacks of the Chinese Empire.

"Boom!" A 105mm shell exploded on the city wall in Hankou. The violent explosion caused stone chips to fly everywhere. The Qing soldiers guarding the city wall were even more casualties. The remaining people were frightened and rolled back to the city and crawled back to the city, not daring to stay on the city wall anymore.

The violent shelling lasted for more than half an hour before it ended. After the shelling, Hankou City almost became a ruin, and a large number of houses were blown up. Even the governor's office of Rong Yucai, the 9th Army's elder Rong Yucai, was hit by a lot of shells, which scared Rong Yucai to hide in the underground command center.

"Order all units to prepare for attack!" Brigadier General Zheng Benqing, the commander of the 5th Brigade of the Imperial Army, issued an order to attack. The two infantry battalions of the 5th Brigade launched a fierce attack on Hankou under the cover of artillery fire. Thousands of elite soldiers rushed towards the tall city walls of Hankou while slapped the scattered line.

"Go up to the city wall. The rebels start attacking, so they will continue to fight! If those rebels are allowed to attack Hankou, we will have only one way to die. The commander said that as long as we resist the attack of the rebels, everyone is a hero. Anyone who kills a rebel will be rewarded with five taels of silver. Kill ten will be promoted to one level!" The low-level officers of the Qing army shouted loudly. The loyalty of the soldiers of the Qing army is far from comparable to the soldiers of the Chinese Empire. Therefore, in order to increase everyone's morale, they can often only use promotion or money to stimulate everyone. It has to be said that this is indeed a very good method. Some Qing soldiers rushed to the city wall with red eyes and prepared to resist the attack of the imperial army.

"Boom! Boom!" Five hundred meters away from the city wall, the Imperial Army's mortars were set up and suppressed fire on the Qing army at the top of the city. The muzzle of the heavy machine gun was also aimed at the city wall, and dense bullets poured onto the city wall. The Qing army was unable to raise its head at all.

"Bang! Bang!" The Qing army on the city wall fought back in the rain of bullets from the Imperial Army, and the sound of chaotic rifle shooting sounded. However, in the panic, the bullets they fired were not accurate at all. The few imperial soldiers who were hit were pitiful.

The three towns in Wuhan are divided into Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang. As important cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River since ancient times, Wuhan is one of the most important cities in China. In the war between the Chinese Empire and the Qing Dynasty, the empire seized Wuchang, but Hankou and Hanyang, located north of the Yangtze River, were still under the control of the Qing army. In order to cope with the threat of the Chinese Empire, the Qing army continuously strengthened the defenses of Hankou and Hanyang, making the defenses of these two cities stronger. Of course, even the most solid city will be destroyed one day.

At around 9 a.m., the soldiers of the Imperial Army had approached the city walls of Wuhan and began to shoot against the Qing army on the city walls. Even though the Qing army had the city walls as cover, they could not take any advantage in the shooting. At the same time, the Imperial engineers began to prepare to use the city walls to blow up the city walls of Hankou. When dealing with such a strong city, there was basically no other way, and they could only use the city walls to blow up the city walls and then attack the city. Under the rule of the Chinese Empire, due to the economic development, the scale of the city has also grown larger and larger. Therefore, the city walls have become a factor hindering the development of the city. Many cities have demolished the city walls. Only the areas ruling in the Qing Dynasty north of the Yangtze River are still surrounded by city walls. This also in disguise increases the difficulty of the Imperial Army's attack.

Under the cover of his comrades, the engineers rushed to the city wall in Hankou and buried two hundred kilograms of ** under the city wall.

"Boom!" In a shocking and violent explosion, a large hole was blown down in the city wall south of Hankou. This large hole was dozens of meters long, and many Qing troops on the city wall were buried in the gravel that collapsed in the city wall.

The entire Hankou shaking in the violent explosion, as if it was an earthquake.

"What's going on? Is there an earthquake?" Rong Yucai, the leader of the 9th Army of the Qing army, who was hiding in the underground command center, was shocked. If an earthquake occurred, wouldn't he be hiding in the low command center, wouldn't he be dead? If the exit collapsed, wouldn't he be buried alive?

"The commander of the army is not an earthquake, but a rebel bandit then used ** to blow up the city walls of Hankou." said adjutant Zhang Yuchen.

"Damn it! Give an order to the three division commanders, requiring them to resist the attack of the rebel bandits no matter what! As long as the attack of the rebel bandits is repelled, I will submit the court to ask for credit for them!" Rong Yucai can only promise some blank checks now in exchange for everyone's efforts.

"Yes, commander!" Zhang Yuchen nodded, but it is hard to say whether these promises will work.

"Roll!" After the city wall in Hankou was blown down, the heroic officers and soldiers of the Imperial Army, who had been waiting for a long time, launched a fierce attack.

"Bang! Bang!" A row of bullets shot over, and the soldiers who rushed in the front were knocked to the ground. However, the comrades behind passed their bodies and continued to move forward.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Several mortar shells fell at the gap in the city wall, and the Qing army bombers guarding there were overturning their horses.

Two Type 44 heavy machine guns were lifted up and fired together at the gap. The dense bullets were like steel storms, covering all the stubborn Qing army. After the storm dissipated, the Qing soldiers had been beaten into sieves.

At 10 a.m., after a fierce battle, the Imperial Army invaded Hankou. However, even at this time, the Qing army had not given up on resistance and was still resisting. In the propaganda of the Qing government, if it was defeated, the Qing soldiers would not end up. They were either killed directly by the Chinese Empire or sold to slaves.

"Haha, you've attacked! Those Qing troops are really vulnerable!" At the most tragic time of the battle, Major General Liu Zhongming, deputy director of the Operations Department of the General Staff of the Imperial Army, and Major General Zhao Mingfu, commander of the 5th Army, crossed the Yangtze River by boat and boarded the north bank of the Yangtze River.

"Yes! Lao Zhao, let the remaining two brigades of the 5th Army and one brigade of the 3rd Army launch an attack on Hanyang, and there is a division of the Qing army there, so they cannot be allowed to slip away!" Major General Liu Zhongming ordered.

The main forces of the 9th Army of the Qing army were concentrated in Hankou, and there was only one infantry division in Hanyang. However, in order to achieve a successful victory, Major General Liu Zhongming obviously would not let this infantry division go.

"Okay, general!" Major General Zhao Mingfu nodded. One of three infantry brigades should be able to deal with an infantry division of the Qing army.

The fierce street fighting took place in Hankou City. Through the gap in the collapsed city wall, the Imperial Army attacked Hankou City. However, the remaining Qing army still relied on the buildings in the city to resist the attack of the Imperial Army. Every time the Imperial Army took a step forward, it had to start a fierce battle with the Qing army. However, it has to be admitted that although the Qing army was equipped with new weapons and hired British instructors, they did not transform into new army. It was just a sign of it. Under the fierce attack of the Imperial Army, the Qing army was still unable to resist.

Even though the Qing army was more familiar with Hankou City than the Imperial Army, they were still beaten and retreated step by step.

By the afternoon of that day, most of Hankou City had fallen under the control of the Imperial Army. The Qing army was killed and injured, with thousands of people. In addition, there were also the same number of Qing soldiers who were desperate and surrendered to the Imperial Army. At this time, saving their lives first is the most important thing. Even if you want to live a life worse than a pig or a dog in the future, it would be much better than being killed now!

At 4:12 pm, Hanyang, controlled by the Qing army, was first restored by the Imperial Army. The 36th Infantry Division of the Qing army who defended here also saw that the main forces of the 9th Army of the Qing army were all in a tough battle. If they had support, they surrendered to the Imperial Army shortly after resisting.

The battle in Hankou did not last long. In the evening, the Qing army could not resist it. Rong Yucai, the leader of the 9th Army of the Qing army, sent an envoy to the Imperial Army and requested to surrender to the Imperial Army if conditions permit. If the Empire accepts their conditions, he will lead the remaining nearly 20,000 Qing troops to surrender to the Imperial Army. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!