He treated the wounded in Lingwu City, replenished food and grass, and rested for seven or eight days before the imperial court issued a decree to commend him.

Before Yang Ning became the supervisor of the army, the imperial court's several groups of counter-rebellion troops were defeated one after another, losing cities and territory, without winning a single victory. However, Yang Ning's group of troops was completely opposite, although fortune-telling also occurred. Chang wanted to kill his colleagues and take credit for his unhappiness, but later he made great progress and won every victory.

First, they wiped out three thousand enemy cavalry on the banks of the Yellow River. Then they defeated Liu Dongshang's rebels at the gates of Kaicheng City. They attacked the thirteen cities of Ningxia in one go and regained a large amount of lost territory along the way. Now they defeated 20,000 Tuguiluo's elite cavalry at Qingfengkou. , captured Lingwu City without a single blow. This series of great victories has shocked the whole capital. From the palace to the common people, they are immersed in great joy. Naturally, the reward is also very heavy.

In all the war reports, General Ma Gui recorded all his first achievements and great achievements on Yang Ning, and he did not hesitate to praise him. Therefore, Yang Ning received the most generous rewards.

The rank was directly promoted from the sixth rank to the inner eunuch rank of the fifth rank, and he still served as the imperial eunuch. He was rewarded with two hundred taels of gold. This was the most practical and Yang Ning's favorite. The emperor As a special favor, Yang Ning was given a mansion outside the palace as a special favor. Yang Ning also liked this and was promoted to the post of Royal Horse Supervisor. He couldn't live in the inner palace anymore. He just had a place to stay. He just thought of Shuiling and Princess Yongning. , and Concubine Li, Yang Ning felt very reluctant to part with her.

This series of rewards can be said to be inevitable. Even if Meng Tong and others try their best to stop them, it will be useless. After all, this series of glorious victories were all achieved under his supervision. He is definitely indispensable. This Meng Tong tried his best to remove himself from the position of the general manager of Funing Palace, and was promoted to the position of Royal Horse Supervisor. His original intention was to send himself to supervise the army, but Bu Chang took his own life in the chaos. Unexpectedly, now First, Bu Chang was beheaded in front of his battle, and now he has taken this opportunity to make many military exploits and win many awards. Meng Tong and others are probably regretting it now.

Ma Gui was promoted from deputy commander-in-chief to commander-in-chief of Ningxia, and officially became a general in charge of one side. His subordinates Chang Dayong, Du Song and other generals also followed suit and were promoted to the rank of nobility. Even ordinary soldiers had their own rewards, and everyone was rewarded. They were very happy, and all the generals said: The imperial court has always been in a tight situation and has received few rewards, but this time it has spent a lot of money.

In the past few days, various scouts have also sent in intelligence on the investigation. Yang Ning learned through the intelligence that because his troops had successively defeated Liu Dongshang's main force of the rebels and Tuguiluo's reinforcements of 20,000 elite cavalry, the rebels now It has begun to shrink rapidly. The remnants of Liu Dongshang's troops have returned to Ningxia City, and the Yichen'en tribe going north and the Tuwenxiu tribe going south have also begun to withdraw their troops towards Ningxia City. The pressure on Xiao Ruxun's troops was greatly reduced, and they began to follow the footsteps of the rebels.

"It seems that the rebels want to have a decisive battle with my counter-rebellion army in Ningxia City," Yang Ning looked up and said to Ma Gui after reading the map.

"In this way, there will be a rebel force of 10,000 soldiers gathered in Ningxia City. The total number of troops on our side will not exceed 80,000 soldiers and horses. We want to capture Ningxia City, which is known as the 'First Strongest City in the Northwest'. It is undoubtedly impossible. The weather is getting colder and colder now. If not, we will be buried under the city of Ningxia," Ma Gui said with a frown. After speaking, his expression became more relaxed and said: "But fortunately now Jilitu must be annoyed by Liu Dongshang's unkindness and will probably not send troops to help him again,"

Yang Ning shook his head and said: "That's not necessarily true. Once our war fails, there is no guarantee that Litu will not send troops again. You must know that his ultimate goal is to obtain the fertile grasslands in northern Ningxia, not just to save Liu Dongshang. "

Ma Gui's expression became bitter again, and he sighed: "The enemy's power is too great. Although we have won several great victories, we are still in a difficult situation now."

"Don't be discouraged. The rebels' retreat now has proven that we have taken the initiative. Even if a battle with Zhulitu is inevitable, after experiencing the night attack across the river on the bank of the Yellow River and the ambush victory at Qingfengkou, he will not be able to avoid it. If he underestimates us again, even if he sends troops again, he will definitely think carefully about it," Yang Ning said easily.

The next day, the army set off towards Ningxia City. All the rebels retreated along the way. The Ming army effortlessly controlled all the towns until they reached the foot of Ningxia City and blocked the south gate.

This Ningxia city is located in a dangerous location, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the Yellow River on one side. In addition, it has always been one of the "nine-sided important towns". The city's walls are high and thick, and it is much stronger than Lingwu City. It is a real city. Strong City Fortress.

Looking at the towering city head of Ningxia City, Yang Ning and Ma Gui couldn't help but frown.

On the second day, the combined troops of Ye Mengxiong and Gansu General Li Xun also arrived at the gate of Ningxia City and blocked the west gate of Ningxia City. The army totaled more than 30,000 people on this road.

A few days later, Xiao Ruxun, the general of Pinglu who was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of Ningxia due to merit, led the soldiers and horses of Pinglu Fort. The remaining soldiers from other fallen guard posts on Ningxia North Road also arrived at the north gate of Ningxia City. There are still more than 20,000 people.

These two groups of troops plus the more than 30,000 people on Magui's side amounted to more than 80,000 people, which was comparable to the number of rebels in Ningxia City.

The leading generals of the three armies held a military meeting that night. Yang Ning had known Ye Mengxiong for a long time, and it was inevitable to exchange greetings. Ye Mengxiong said nothing but congratulations and praises, and said that they were all involved in Ma Gui's career. With the help of soldiers and horses, the rebels were driven north from Gansu and southern Shaanxi and recovered Guyuan. Yang Ning and Ma Gui were extremely humble.

Ma Gui had seen Xiao Ruxun before, but it was the first time for Yang Ning to see him. He was a young general with a handsome appearance and bold and sharp speech. Yang Ning had a great liking for this man. At the beginning of the rebellion, All the guard posts and military towns on the North Road of Ningxia fell. Only this Pinglu, under the leadership of this man, withstood the rebels' rapid offensive, dealt with the Tuluo cavalry, and held on until now. It is not easy, if not impossible. It is impossible for talents to achieve this. Xiao Ruxun admires Yang Ning and Ma Gui very much. After all, they have a series of great victories.

The generals from the three parties sat together and talked happily, but when they talked about how to capture Ningxia City, everyone frowned.

"It is reported that there are still more than 80,000 rebels in the city, and our three groups combined are equivalent to that. In the past, the number of people attacking the city was at least three times that of the defenders. What's more, what we captured was still Even if the enemy wants to break through, even if the enemy wants to break out, we can't stop it," Ye Mengxiong said first.

Ma Gui shook his head and said: "It is impossible to break out of the encirclement. Liu Dongshang wants to use Ningxia City's high walls and thick walls to consume us under Ningxia City."

"Then we will be under siege for a long time and see who can outlast the other," Li Xun, the commander-in-chief of Gansu Province, said with fists.

This time, it was Ningxia's deputy commander Xiao Ruxun's turn to shake his head and said: "I'm afraid not, this Ningxia city is the home of the rebels. Liu Dongshang has been operating here for many years. Before the rebellion, he accumulated a large amount of food, grass and weapons and held on for a year. Half a year is not a problem. He can afford it, but we can't afford it. Not to mention that the court can't wait, and it can't afford our army of tens of thousands. Even if we can persist here for a few months, don't Forgot, there is a Jianlitu with tens of thousands of cavalry threatening our retreat at any time,"

The generals were all talking and the discussion was very active, but unfortunately there was no good way to defeat the enemy. Yang Ning didn't say a word. He didn't have any good ideas. When he thought about the tall walls of Ningxia City, he had no idea at all.

"No matter what, we have to attack it first tomorrow, otherwise the court will not be able to explain it," Ye Mengxiong said. He had the highest official rank present, and all the generals were under his control.

Yang Ning's expression changed after hearing Ye Mengxiong's words, and he hesitated to speak. After thinking for a while, he just sighed and said nothing.

Ye Mengxiong was a bit hasty like this. He knew that Ningxia city had many soldiers and enough food, and the city walls were high and difficult to attack. Just to give the court an "explanation", he let the soldiers die in vain. This was by no means a way to win with troops. It was just Yang Ning's consideration. After all, Ye Mengxiong was the commander in chief of this final battle, and he was just a supervisor, a supervisor under Ma Gui's command. It was naturally difficult to say anything in this situation, so he remained silent in the end.

On the second day, after breakfast and with the sound of drums as a signal, the Ming army launched an siege against Ningxia City from the west, south and east gates.

In fact, the Ming army did not have many large-scale siege equipment, only some simple equipment such as siege vehicles and ladders. It would undoubtedly increase the difficulty to capture the city of Ningxia with these equipment.

The soldiers and horses of Ma Gui who attacked the south gate formed a formation, pushed and carried siege equipment, shouted and rushed towards the Ningxia city. When they entered the range of the rebels' bows and arrows, arrows suddenly appeared on the city top. Although the soldiers of the Ming army immediately raised their shields, with the sound of "swish" piercing the air, many soldiers fell down after being hit by arrows, screaming and groaning, but no arrows hit anyone. The feathers are stuck diagonally on the ground, forming a "forest of arrows".

The archers in the Ming army immediately raised their backs and fired arrows at the top of the city to fight back. However, because the rebels were condescending and the Ming army was in a disadvantageous position, the two sides also suffered a lot from the "shooting". Many Ming army archers fell to the ground after being hit by arrows.

Trampling the corpses and blood of their companions, the Ming army finally rushed to the city. The siege engines began to hit the city gates and walls, while the soldiers shouted and erected the tall ladders to the top of the city.

Rolling wood and thunder stones immediately fell down from the top of the city, hitting the heads of the siege soldiers. The casualties of the Ming army increased. Many soldiers finally climbed up the ladder and approached the top of the city, but they were smashed down again. Some screamed and fell because of the hot oil poured down from the top of the city. Some rebels directly pressed the ejector pole on the ladder, pushed the ladder away from the city head, and fell backwards. The Ming soldiers on the ladder They fell down one after another, and some fell directly to death.

The most intense battle was at the city gate tower. Hundreds of soldiers took turns pushing siege vehicles to crash into the thick gate of Ningxia City. The rebels on the city counterattacked even more fiercely. They threw rocks the size of millstones, Huge rolling logs were thrown down like raindrops, and the soldiers of the Ming army who were responsible for pushing the siege vehicles were immediately smashed into a pulp. They suffered heavy casualties. The ones in front fell, and the soldiers behind immediately made up for them and continued to push the siege engines. The car hit the city gate.

Finally, a huge boulder weighing more than 1,000 kilograms fell from the top of the city. The huge force smashed the siege chariot to the ground. The falling boulder and the paralyzed siege chariot blocked the city gate hole. The Ming army's attack on the city gate suddenly froze. .

As time passed, the battle became more and more fierce. The Ming army suffered heavy casualties, but they did not even reach the top of Ningxia City.

In the end, Ma Gui had no choice but to stop the attack. The Ming army retreated like a tide, leaving a dense mass of corpses under the city head.

This short siege of the city caused thousands of casualties to Magui's troops. This was a quick retreat, otherwise the casualties would have been even more severe.

After a while, news came from the west gate and east gate that the attack led by Ye Mengxiong and Xiao Ruxun had also suffered setbacks, and the men and horses suffered heavy losses.

For more than ten days in a row, the Ming army could not think of a good way to attack the city, so they could only stay at the gate of Ningxia City every day. The imperial court had issued an order to urge them. Tens of thousands of troops were stationed far in the northwest, and their daily food, grass, and military pay were consumed. It was huge, and the imperial court was already empty of treasury, and it was already a little out of control.

According to reports from Tanma, the troops and horses of the Tuluo tribe in the Hetao Plain in the north have been acting strangely recently. It seems that they want to mobilize and move south in a large scale. This news makes the generals even more anxious.

Yang Ning has almost been thinking about it for more than ten days, but he has no good strategy for attacking the city. He is also very anxious. He is not worried about the war. The key is that he has been out for more than a month, and he really cares about the situation in the capital. Xiao Lezi has not yet found Shui Ling, Princess Yongning and others, and the female medical officer Wen Ziyan who looks exactly like the girl in the library makes him miss him very much.

On this day, Yang Ning felt depressed, so he left the camp through the back door and wandered along the Yellow River.

The city of Ningxia is surrounded by mountains to the north, east, and west. It is actually in a low-lying basin. Not far from the south, the Yellow River rushes around the city.

Yang Ning climbed onto the Yellow River embankment and had a panoramic view of the surrounding scenery. The Yellow River around Ningxia City is narrow, so the water flow is extremely fast. The roaring Yellow River rushes past, first to the east, and then to the north.

Looking back, Ningxia City has a panoramic view. Since the terrain of the Yellow River is already higher than that of Ningxia City, from the perspective of Yang Ning, the embankment of the Yellow River is actually higher than the top of Ningxia City. The shadowy buildings in Ningxia City are also As far as the eye can see, the low plain between the Yellow River embankment and Ningxia City is dotted with Ming army camps.

Looking at the tall and wide walls of Ningxia City, Yang Ning couldn't help but feel worried. If he only relied on force to attack, even a hundred thousand Ming troops would not be enough. How could he easily capture this strong city fortress?

Yang Ning's eyes were wandering around Ningxia City, and his mind was rapidly switching through the battles of defending and attacking the city from ancient times to the present, but he couldn't think of any good method. He couldn't help but be anxious and turned around, looking at the rushing people behind him. The Yellow River was in a daze, and for a while, it turned to the huge Ningxia City in front of it.

While looking at it, a bold idea finally popped out of Yang Ning's mind, and a moment of ecstasy mixed with panic surged through his heart: he had finally found a good way to attack Ningxia City.
Chapter completed!