A scene in history reappeared. A large group of people appeared on the top of Xinhui City. Under the supervision of Qing soldiers, they braved artillery fire to carry bricks and stones to fill the gap.
The Ming army's artillery fire paused obviously, but then continued to bombard the city wall. Veins burst out in Li Sixing's hand holding the telescope, but he had a sullen face and did not issue an order to cease fire. Soldiers have a bounden duty to obey orders, and artillerymen
Although he was shocked, seeing that the general's flag had not changed, he continued to fire.
On the top of the city, people kept falling under the sound of cannons, most of them were common people in the city. However, these people seemed to have no intention of fleeing. They still risked their lives to serve the Qing army defending the city as they did many years ago.
The Qing army's threat to the people was almost the same as it had been many years ago: "Once this city is lost, our government will send troops to counterattack. When we recapture it, this place will be Yangzhou!"
War completely distorts people's psychology. Zhu Yongxing studied the reactions of the people in Xinhui and was puzzled, so he had to use this relatively general summary.
Will the future massacre outweigh the fear of death in reality? Have you completely lost hope in the Ming Dynasty, thinking that Xinhui will definitely fall into the hands of the Qing army again in the future? Or is the ferocity and cruelty of the Qing army better than that of the Ming army, in the spirit of bullying the weak and fearing the strong?
Psychology? Or...
It cannot be a single reason that can make the people of Xinhui full of the spirit of "seeing death as home" and full of "initiative" to serve the Qing army. It is not just repairing the city wall, but also climbing down from the city wall to "tie Qing"
They moved into the city one by one. These people took advantage of the Ming army's soft-heartedness and kindness, but they were serving the cannibal demons.
The artillery fire of the Ming army gradually stopped. This was not an order from Li Sixing, but the artillery had to cool down and rest, and moved forward. Looking at the people on the city who were getting busier and busier, Li Sixing felt resentful and sad, but there was nothing he could do about it. The bombardment was still going on.
Continue, but demolishing the city wall is already a secondary goal. Suppressing and destroying the Qing artillery on the city is the main goal.
A long time passed. After noon, the Ming army still did not launch any more shelling. All the small gaps in the city wall had been repaired. The Qing army generals also celebrated, thinking that the despicable and shameless tactics had worked again.
But the development of the matter was beyond the expectations of the Qing army. Before noon, the thunderous sound of artillery rumbled again. The Hongyi cannon was not only pushed closer, but the muzzle was also lowered. The shells were roaring
, slammed into the middle and lower part of the city wall, bricks and stones flew everywhere, smoke and dust filled the air, and the earth began to tremble again.
Dozens of Hongyi cannons focused on bombarding a short section of the city wall. The power was extraordinary. Soon, a gap appeared on the city wall, and the trend was getting bigger and bigger. The Tianwei cannon was also firing, using explosive or solid bullets.
Sent to the top of the city, destroying the Qing army's artillery and killing the Qing army's lives.
People who were "unafraid of life and death" and "worked hard" appeared next to the gap. They carried earth, wood, bricks and stones to fill the damaged city wall. However, the Ming army's artillery fire did not stop. The ground front moved forward tenaciously and persistently.
, the Qing army’s artillery fired sparsely, and finally became completely silent.
"Report, our army has advanced to within 200 steps. General, please give me your instructions."
Li Sixing heard the signal corps' report, nodded slightly, and finally gave the order to stop the bombardment. This distance was already within the range of the bombardment, and the Qing army wanted to lower the city to counterattack. The Ming army also had a buffer and could use muskets to fire.
Kill a lot of enemies.
……………
The sun slowly sets toward the west, like a large round mirror that is as red as pills, and becomes brighter red as it goes downwards. The red light dyes the surrounding blue sky and white clouds, and covers Xinhui City after a day of attack and defense. It is as red as a red light.
Blood stings people's eyes.
"Excavate a tunnel about three hundred steps to reach the city wall. And be prepared for blasting. It can be completed before tomorrow's dusk at the latest." After Wang Xie finished speaking, he immersed himself in eating and waited for Li Sixing's decision.
"If the artillery is used concentratedly, it won't be a problem to blow down the city wall. Even if it is not concentrated, it will take a longer time, and it should be no problem. The problem is -" Qian Bangchen stopped talking, smiled bitterly, and lowered his head.
Everyone in the tent made eye contact without speaking, and only heard the sound of chewing.
Li Sixing had no expression on his face, chewing and swallowing the food in his mouth, and then said: "Please ask the engineering troops to step up the excavation, the sooner the better. Please ask Director Wang to be responsible for the excavation and blasting matters."
"The last general takes orders." Wang Xie bowed his hands. He was not in a martial arts hall at this time. It was a soldier's duty to obey orders on the battlefield.
"Tomorrow we will move the artillery to the south of the city and ask Director Qian to send capable officers to command and concentrate the bombardment." Li Sixing turned to Qian Bangchen, "Even if the city wall cannot be blown down, it can still attract enemy troops and provide favorable conditions for the attack after blasting in the west of the city.
I would also like to trouble Director Qian to personally sit in the west of the city. After the city wall is blasted, he will direct the artillery to use the Tianwei Cannon and the Sky Explosive Cannon to bombard first and cover the infantry charge."
"The last general takes orders." Qian Bangchen followed Wang Xie's example and also gave Li Sixing face.
A smile appeared on Li Sixing's face, and then he became serious again. He glanced at the other generals and said in a deep voice: "Wei Junzhong, Zhang Guoyong, Lei Chaosheng, Yan Weilong, Peng Yingbo——"
"The end will be here." Five people stood up and saluted.
"You each lead your headquarters and prepare to attack the city. After the blast is successful tomorrow, Yan Weilong's troops will be the first to charge. They will first control both sides of the gap in the city wall to protect other troops from entering the city." Li Sixing's eyes slowly swept over the five people, one by one.
The order was given in the name of the place, "Wei Junzhong led his troops to attack to the north, Zhang Guoyong led his troops to attack to the south, Peng Yingbo and Lei Chaosheng led their troops to sweep into the city."
"The general will obey the order."
"When entering the city, you must move forward bravely. If any situation arises, you must not retreat even half a step, otherwise you will be punished under military law." Li Sixing stood up suddenly with an aggressive look.
Yan Weilong hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively: "If the Qing army drove the people away -" Suddenly, he felt someone kicked him, and he quickly stopped talking.
"The general will understand." Wei Junzhong took a step forward, expressed his position on behalf of several people, and said loudly: "No matter what methods the enemy uses, they can't stop our army's attack and advance."
Li Sixing raised the corners of his mouth and said, "Occupying Xinhui and destroying the enemy is the first priority. As a soldier, you should not think too much about other things."
"The general will finally understand." This time the five people had unified their thoughts. Yan Weilong secretly cursed himself for being stupid and almost forced Li Sixing to say something that really shouldn't be said openly.
……………
It was dark at night, and the yamen in the city were brightly lit. Several Qing generals, with heavy faces, sat together to discuss the matter of defending the city.
"I didn't expect the Ming army's artillery to be so numerous and sharp." Deputy General Xu Chenggong frowned. He was very distressed.
The first day of attack and defense was fought like this, which was really beyond everyone's expectations. Even when faced with Jin King Li Dingguo's endless siege tactics, they were not shocked by the intensive bombardment.
"It's the Hongyi cannon of the Ming Navy." General Wu Jinzhong was a little depressed. He was the commander in charge of the defense of Xicheng. A day's bombardment had severely damaged him.
"No matter where the Hongyi cannon came from, the Ming army seems to have changed its tactics." Yunlong, the commander-in-chief, thought about it and said, "Is it necessary to rely entirely on artillery to defeat the city?"
"Don't the enemy have many artillery? Let them blast hard, and let's block it hard. Let's see if there are more people in the city, or if their artillery is more powerful." Sheng Dengke said coldly with a cold light in his eyes.
.
Xu Erxian, the commander-in-chief, rolled his eyes and glanced at Sheng Dengke almost imperceptibly. Yunlong, Xu Chenggong, and Sheng Dengke all participated in the Xinhui Battle that year, and they can be described as ruthless and inhumane. In contrast, Xu Erxian
In Zhaoqing, they won through good defense, which was better than theirs. However, he was a visiting general, and Yunlong and others were outnumbered. It was hard for him to say anything.
"The enemy's lobed artillery is also very powerful. It is very close to the city. Can it be captured or destroyed by going out of the city?" General Wu Jinzhong subconsciously picked his ears. A shell that crossed the city wall exploded not far away from him, shaking the enemy.
His ears still felt a little uncomfortable.
Xu Chenggong and Sheng Dengke glanced at each other without saying a word. But it was obvious that both of them were afraid of this and did not fully agree, or they preferred others to do this dangerous mission.
"What do you think, Mr. Xu?" Yunlong turned to Xu Erxian and asked politely.
Xu Erxian smiled faintly and said: "It's just a day's bombardment. The enemy wants to seize the enemy first and frighten us. We can't act rashly as the enemy wants! There is a saying in the art of war: one will be strong, then it will be weak. Three will be exhausted.
The city's defense has been planned, as long as we deal with it properly, how long can the enemy remain strong?"
"Your Majesty, thank you." You Yunlong nodded and smiled, and said: "The enemy has a variety of means. I have certain rules. I think back then, the puppet king Dingguo came with great ferocity and used a variety of means. The attack and defense were several times more brutal than today, but Xinhui still remained unmoved.
, causing the false king to return in defeat. Although this time the Ming army has the advantage of firearms, their skills are limited to this, so what should they fear?"
"My lord is wise."
"Your Majesty hit the nail on the head."
Several generals expressed their admiration one after another, and their aura of despair rose. Thinking back to the brutality of the war back then, they felt that today's bombardment was nothing more than this. The psychological effect made these butchers Qiu Ba feel happy again, holding their arms and shouting, as if the Ming army
A big defeat is just around the corner, but a few people can achieve great success and get promoted and make a fortune.
While the ugly group was dancing, explosions and gongs and drums suddenly sounded from all directions. Several people were immediately shocked. There was only one thought in their minds: The tactics of the Ming army were indeed different. So they started to attack the city at night?
……………
Under the tumult of tens of thousands of heroic villagers, and the Ming artillery firing one or two cannons from time to time, the Qing troops defending the city spent a nervous and restless night. Such actions were not only to harass the tired Qing troops, but also to provide cover.
Tunnel excavation construction.
The sun rose again, and it was another day. It was also the second day that the Ming army launched a formal attack on Xinhui. The red light was scattered, indicating that this would be a bloody day.
Others may not have this emotion and mentality, but Li Sixing and the generals are different. After issuing the order roughly last night, everyone conducted detailed research and discussions on how to quickly break through the city defenses, how to coordinate operations when entering the city, etc.
A clearer plan was made.
When Li Sixing ascended the general platform and raised his telescope to look at the blood-stained city, he felt a surge of confidence. Because the engineers and soldiers were digging all night, the progress was beyond the plan. If we keep this pace, it will be completed by almost noon.
Tunnel blasting has shown great power in Yunnan Province. Coupled with Zhu Yongxing's attention, it has not only become a specialty in Jiangwu Hall, but also the team has continued to expand and the technology has become increasingly sophisticated. How to excavate, how to support and drain water under different soil conditions, and how to
There are relatively mature plans for building a more powerful gunpowder chamber to increase the blasting effect.
Now that the work of the engineers was going smoothly, Li Sixing made corresponding adjustments after discussing with everyone. The artillery in the west of the city no longer needed to bombard the city, and all the artillery was moved to the south of the city to avoid too much vibration, which might collapse the tunnels that were already close to the city wall.
The Qing army on the city discovered the movement of the Ming army's artillery and general flags, and immediately guessed that the Ming army was going to attack one side, and made corresponding adjustments. However, Li Sixing only made a feint, and when the general attack was approaching, the general flags did not move.
, but he wanted to quietly return to the west of the city and direct the attack.
Chief of Staff Wu Sansheng also rushed over with several staff officers. Ma Bao pretended to be ill, but at the critical moment of breaking the city, he could not hide behind him. It is good to let Li Sixing "take the blame", but can this young man command properly?
, they also have to observe carefully and provide guidance and suggestions.
"Listen up, damn, after the city wall collapses, I will charge forward. No matter who is in front, whether they are soldiers or civilians, anyone who stands in the way will be killed, killed, killed! Anyone who retreats will be killed! Don't hesitate.
Those who advance will be killed..." In the main attacking infantry camp, several generals shouted similar words to their officers.
Time was running out, and the returning officers began to yell at their soldiers again: "Only advance, don't retreat, don't tell me what's ahead, and don't waste time asking for orders. Just move forward, move forward! Block the way."
Anyone who wants to kill them, whether they are Qing soldiers or civilians, kill them all! If there is an order from above, those who retreat will be beheaded! Those who hesitate to advance will be beheaded!"
"Are ordinary people going to be killed too?" Not without soldiers asking this question.
"Fool, bastard! Why don't you take action and wait for them to break up your formation, and then the Qing soldiers behind them will rush up and chop you to death? If you want to die, just go away and die. Don't hurt the brother next to you, Pao Ze."
Even if no soldiers ask such doubts, the officers must analyze the pros and cons to them. Muskets and bayonets rely on the formation to show their power. They take turns to shoot and move forward step by step. They rely on the strictness of the formation and collective strength.
.If we can't maintain the formation and fight on our own, I don't know how many more people will die.
Pre-war mobilization was carried out amidst such shouting and scolding, but the actual effect is unknown. After all, such a battle has never been fought before, and there is a lack of practical experience from top to bottom. Only by combining this ruthlessness and
Combining cruelty with your own life and the safety of your comrades may be the most convincing.