?The twenty-fourth day of the first lunar month of the tenth year of Yongli, Yingde County, Shaozhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province.

The villages and towns near the county seat have been emptied by the Ming army. At first, Huang Xing planned to bring these people back to the city to serve as civilian husbands, which is what he did. However, he soon discovered that the people entering the city were really

There were too many, so they simply sent these people to the boundary of Wengyuan County in the upper reaches of Dian River.

Huang Xing started working on relocating people, collecting supplies, destroying official roads and wharves, filling in wells, and clearing out the country as soon as he got the news. Unfortunately, the war was imminent, and there were too many things that needed to be done, especially

The reinforcement of the city, as well as the repair and new construction of the city's defense facilities left him scratching his head. When the Qing army arrived quickly and the probing horses approached the city, these tasks still had not been completed in time.

The reinforcement of the city wall is still continuing, but time is obviously not enough. The Qing army moved south in large quantities with the help of the Huangshui waterway. With an army of more than ten thousand, Lianzhou and Yangshan along the way could not gather many ships.

Come, will lead to the passage of time for the army to approach the city to this day.

Hong Chengchou made a spur-of-the-moment idea and acted according to circumstances. Just like Chen Kai thought reversely when Guangxi was empty and did not rescue Guangxi. Instead, he concentrated his superior forces to storm the southern Jiangxi area that Hong Chengchou had to defend. Hong Chengchou also chose the economic strategy.

The three counties of Lianzhou entered Yingde County, an important node of the lifeline of the Beijiang Waterway. However, the Qing officials and local forces in the three counties of Lianzhou were completely unprepared, just like Huang Xing, who was about to face a siege.

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Riders were out and about, and Ma Bao finally entered the city before Hong Chengchou's army arrived at Gukou. However, it was only one step ahead.

The three generals in Yingde County quickly clarified their war and defense responsibilities, and the Qing army quickly arrived at the city. Gukou is located slightly downstream of Yingde County, and the Qing army went down the river to the south of the city.

.In this way, the communication between Yingde County and Qingyuan, Sanshui, Guangzhou and other places in the lower reaches of the Beijiang River was immediately blocked by the Qing army. Unless they go around in a circle and arrive at Wengyuan County, there may be some possibility of contact.

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Once the Qing army arrived, they immediately besieged the south and west of the city. The east side was adjacent to the Changshui River. As a result, they were still surrounded by three and one missing, but it was not as solid as that.

The army approached the city, and Hong Chengchou's banner soon showed up in the west of the city, catching his eye at first glance among the thousands of troops. The banner embroidered with the big Chinese character "Hong" fluttered in the wind, indicating the identity of the owner of the banner.

and the past.

Standing on the top of the city, Huang Xing from Fujian couldn't help but swallowed his saliva. Even though Ma Bao from Shaanxi only joined the Dashun Army in the 16th year of Chongzhen's reign and had never really fought against Na Hong Butcher, he had been in the Dashun Army for many years.

Under Li Chengdong's command, Hong Chengchou's illustrious reputation is the most heard. Here, on the contrary, the weakest Cantonese Wang Han seems to be less affected. I don't know whether it is because ignorance is fearless, or because he is afraid of the north.

Another civil servant who is known for his wisdom and war skills will be rushed back with greater confidence.

"Master Fujun will return soon and guard the city. Everyone will be rewarded!"

Although the methods of boosting morale were used, it always seemed to be a little guilty. At this moment, in the brilliant formation of the Qing army, a fast horse galloped over, shouting loudly words to persuade them to surrender, and others

The knights of the Ming Army who were arrogant and ordered the Qing troops defending the city to surrender under Yingde City half a year ago had no choice but to be defeated even if they had Chen Kai's arrogant questioning and blessing.

After a series of condescending and contemptuous orders to persuade them to surrender, there was no reaction from the city. The Qing knight clamped the horse's belly and lightly reined in the reins. The horse turned around with light steps, and

The Qing knight twisted his waist slightly, then turned to the other side and faced the Yingde County town again.

As if it was a ceremony, the horse turned around and stood up again, and the knight once again swept those arrogant words of persuasion to surrender towards the Ming army at the top of the city with an even more condescending momentum.

When Yingde County was first built, it was one foot and three feet high, about four and a half meters high. In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the magistrate Wu Yongcheng rebuilt the city and raised its height. Now it is five meters high, including the top of the city.

The height of the Ming army, as high as the eardrum, was already six or seven meters. However, under the arrogance of the Qing army, it seemed that the man who was only about two meters riding on the war horse was not a knight outside the city, but a knight outside the city.

It's the defenders on the top of these cities who cannot face their opponents directly without looking up.

"Fire the arrow!"

This is an attitude, and it is also a kind of helplessness. Huang Xing waved his hand, and a group of archers aimed at the Qing knight and shot hard.

However, the momentum is not a balloon, and there is no chance that such a rain of arrows will puncture it. Seeing this situation, the Qing knights under the city naturally pulled out their sabers. They remained motionless and did not rush to take action. They just

With a few flicks, he knocked down the arrows that threatened him and his horses one by one. After the rain of arrows, he cursed his halberd, and then rode back with his horse laughing wildly.

Despite the Qing army being so arrogant, they were not even able to injure them. Ma Bao on top of the city had already crushed his steel teeth. Originally, he was an earl and a commander, and there was no need to personally fight against the Qing army. Let the following

The soldiers could be sent away. Who knew it would be like this? He even regretted not being able to open the city and fight alone on horseback. He killed them under the city to weaken the momentum of the Qing army.

The prowess of the Qing knights immediately aroused cheers for the Qing battle outside the city. Ma Bao had no choice but to act in accordance with the established rights and responsibilities of city guards. At this time, the attitude of the Ming army was clear, and the Qing army no longer waited.

, the army moved forward slowly, but there were not many artillery, but there were many siege equipment such as watchtowers, rams, and ladders. It seemed to be a pure siege relying on cold weapons.

Similar.

On top of the city, Ma Bao has been fighting for a long time. Huang Xing has seen similar scenes in Fujian and Guangdong. The Qing army is like this, it is just that the afternoon has passed, and it may not be possible to fight in an afternoon.

Determine the outcome. In addition, Huang Xing worked hard on the plum blossom piles outside the city. They are densely arranged outside. If someone with trypophobia looks down from the top of the city, he might be forced to get sick.

Sure enough, the Qing army's formation stopped outside the range of the Ming army's artillery. This distance was already within a mile. It was obvious that the Qing army had an idea of ​​the city defense situation in Yingde County, especially the caliber of the artillery.

Accurate understanding.

This is all due to the intelligence collection work of the Changsha shogunate in the past six months. Of course, it is not just Yingde County that is paying attention. It can even be said that its attention is only a few tenths of that of Guangzhou City, but it is

It can still allow the Qing army to have a sufficient intelligence base before officially launching an attack, laying a better foundation for operations planning and operations.

The army came to a suitable distance and stopped. It was not that it was rearranging its formation, but it really stopped. Almost at the same time, the flag of the Qing army was waved, and groups of auxiliary soldiers came out from behind the formation, holding hands.

Armed with tools such as axes and hammers, plus some large shields, he walked forward slowly at first, and then started running rhythmically. He rushed to the plum blossom pile at the front before stopping, and then directly

He wielded his ax and began to cut down the plum blossom piles, without taking the Ming army shooters who were watching eagerly on the city head seriously.

The existence of plum-blossom piles is not only to block the approach of siege equipment and delay the attacking party's advancement to the city wall, but also to cause damage to the attackers in the process to lower the opponent's morale. Plum-blossom piles are all used by Ming army shooters

Within the shooting range, the auxiliary soldiers of the Qing army began to cut down the plum blossom piles. The Ming army at the top of the city only waited for an order, and arrows fell from the top of the city like a heavy rain. Compared with the time when they killed the knight just now, the number was unknown.

Go out as much as possible.

The heavy rain came rapidly, and casualties were inevitable. However, although the Qing army was only auxiliary soldiers, they seemed to cooperate tacitly. Teams of auxiliary soldiers approached the plum blossom piles and spread out, forming groups of three, one holding a weapon.

With the shield in front, one person held an ax and chopped from the bottom of the plum blossom pile. When a gap was made, the auxiliary soldier carrying the wooden hammer rounded the hammer and smashed the plum blossom pile directly along the gap.

The Qing army did not intend to uproot the plum blossom piles. They only needed to cut off the exposed parts, even as long as they did not hinder the movement of siege equipment.

Different teams, number of people, and combinations are different, but they all have shield hands in front to cover the auxiliary soldiers behind to clean up the plum blossom piles. When these Qing troops cooperate, it seems that they are not the kind of people who have been put together temporarily, and their tacit understanding is not compromised at all.

Compared with real soldiers. The difference is that the tacit cooperation of the soldiers is to kill people, while they are to clear the plum blossom piles. However, as long as possible, no one who sees the current scene will doubt these auxiliary soldiers.

Once someone is killed, their cooperation will be really bad.

On top of the city, Huang Xing and the others thought so, and the cold sweat on their foreheads became even heavier. According to the intelligence that had been sent back several times before, as well as the flags of the Qing army outside the city, it was clear that tens of thousands of troops were on the southwest meridian.

Here. Such a force is already extremely stressful for them. But now it seems that even the quality of these auxiliary soldiers has reached such a level, the combat effectiveness of those soldiers is even more conceivable.

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Although this distance is within the shooting range, the accuracy and power it poses to the Qing auxiliary soldiers with shield hands is really minimal. Seeing this, Huang Xing did not intend to continue to waste arrows, so he asked the archers to stop

It continued until the Qing army's auxiliary soldiers had cleared nearly half of the plum blossom piles, and even another group of auxiliary soldiers came up to shoot.

The angle was different, and it became impossible for the Qing army to provide cover for three or four people. Sharp arrows were shot out one after another, and from time to time, auxiliary soldiers of the Qing army fell to the ground after being hit by arrows. Some of them let out painful screams.

screamed, and then managed to stand up and continue their work; some, wailing sounds came from the bodies lying on the ground, obviously losing the ability to move; some were shot down without saying a word.

On the ground, there was an arrow stuck in his body, and he was no longer alive.

It was only a moment after the Ming army's shooting started to take effect, and the plum blossom pile of this size did not seem to be weakened much. The war drums of the Qing army were beating, and the huge siege equipment was slowly advancing under the hard push of the auxiliary soldiers.

.The Qing troops who followed behind held their own weapons and followed the siege equipment, unwilling to expose any part of their bodies.

The siege equipment advanced slowly, and another group of auxiliary soldiers from the Qing army came up and began to speed up the progress of cutting down the plum blossom piles. The Qing army was slowly approaching, not very fast, but they never stopped. They were only a matter of time away from the city wall.

Question. As for those plum blossom piles, as more Qing army auxiliaries followed, it was obvious that they could no longer slow down the Qing army's advance.

This was not a deliberate estimate, but with many years of experience, the officers of the Qing army were obviously very comfortable with this and had it just right.

After a while, the artillery on the top of the Ming army's city began to fire. It was not aimed at the ant-like Qing troops below the city, but at the towering observation towers. The target was bigger, the probability of hitting was greater, and it caused more damage. The war

Sometimes, just like math problems, it can be calculated accurately, but sometimes, the variables are constantly increasing and the computing power is slightly insufficient, the calculation will often become more and more confusing.

Amidst the creaking sound of the wood breaking, a watchtower slumped to the ground. The Qing troops on the platform couldn't help but screamed and tried to hold on to the last chance of life. Some even brave people wanted to stand on the ground.

He jumped up instantly, but it was just in vain. The huge wooden structure could carry a large number of soldiers, and its own weight was enough to crush everything.

The Qing soldiers behind the watchtower fled quickly, but there were always a few who fell behind and could not survive. In front of the god of death, there is nothing more than high or low. These Qing soldiers simply relied on their richer experience to try to avoid more battle deaths.

possibility, just become the lucky one who survives.

The Qing army was still advancing, and the plum blossom pile formation set up by Huang Xing had been broken by the Qing army before evening. Fortunately, the variables in the night battle were too great, especially for the Qing army that penetrated deep into the hinterland of the Ming army.

They would not choose it at all costs. There is not much time left, and the time they need to persist does not need to be too long.

This is just a theory. Until the moment when the Qing army retreated, everything was still unknown. The plum blossom piles were gradually cut down, and there was no moat in Yingde County. The watchtower had stopped midway and was in contact with the city.

Shooting at the Ming troops at the top of the city. The shooting at the Ming troops at the top of the city undoubtedly gave those rushing cars a better chance to advance. Ming troops continued to be hit by arrows from the top of the city, accompanied by screams or not, such a towering
Chapter completed!