The Ming army led by Li Sixing arrived at Jiangmen and defeated the Qing army that was attacking to recover the area. Then, with the assistance of the rebels of Zhou Yu and Li Rong, they walked through Shunde, crossed Panyu, and approached Guangzhou at an astonishing speed. At this time,
In addition to the 12,000 regular troops after the rendezvous, the Ming army, plus a naval force that came to support by sea, also added more than 20,000 revolting civilians, and the momentum was strong.
Under the inertial thinking, Shang Kexi in Guangzhou had not yet woken up when the Ming army came to the city. It was impossible for Xinhui to fall in such a short period of time, and he would not believe it even if he were killed. In addition, the news of the capture of Xinhui was blocked,
According to his own thinking, he believed that after the Ming army besieged Xinhui, they divided their divisions to capture Guangzhou.
The road back was unstable, the lone army was advancing deep, and the military strategists were wary. Shang Kexi followed his own judgment and looked at the Ming army approaching Guangzhou, and felt that the situation was not that serious.
First of all, although the Ming army was large in number, there were a large number of rebellious people among them. If they forcibly besieged the city, their strength would inevitably be dispersed, giving the Qing army a chance to defeat them one by one. Secondly, there were still more than 10,000 Qing troops in Guangzhou, so if they gathered around
With a scattered army and a fortified city to rely on, the Ming army did not have much advantage in numbers. It was very difficult for the mixed rebel forces to conquer Guangzhou. Finally, if the Ming army bypassed Xinhui, it would undoubtedly be behind them.
Leaving a nail behind not only dispersed the troops, but also threatened the land's pay and food routes. How long can it be sustained by sea transportation?
The wrong judgment resulted in the loss of the last chance of escape. Due to insufficient strength, the vanguard Ming army was still unable to siege the city despite joining the rebel army. The two sides went through several small-scale battles under the walls of Guangzhou. The Qing army was unable to shake the Ming army, and the Ming army was unable to defeat the Ming army.
The army established a stronghold in the southwest of the city.
After the Qing army returned to the city, they strengthened the city defense while waiting for reinforcements from the surrounding areas. At this time, Shang Kexi sent out orders and transferred all the Qing soldiers from the green battalion, which were already very few in the surrounding counties and towns, to Guangzhou. He also recalled the Qing soldiers who were fighting in Jieshi and Boluo.
Gao Liangfu and Gao Liangzhen's troops. In his view, a small amount adds up to a greater number. As long as they can overwhelm the Ming army in terms of strength, not only will the city of Guangzhou be safe, but they will also be able to counterattack when the Ming army shows signs of fatigue.
Such successful examples are not uncommon in the history of Shang Kexi's battles. The most famous ones are naturally the two battles of Zhaoqing and Xinhui. Two defensive counterattacks defeated the then famous King of Jin Li Dingguo, which naturally made Shang Kexi feel proud.
He is very fond of this kind of tactics.
Facts have proved that old experience is sometimes unreliable. Just when Shang Kexi was pleased with the increasing number of troops in Guangzhou City, the main force of the Ming Army set out from Xinhui, took Heshan and Foshan, reached the west of Guangzhou City, and immediately divided its forces to attack Qingyuan.
, closing the door for the Qing army to flee north.
At this point, Guangzhou was already surrounded by 40,000 Ming troops and 50,000 to 60,000 volunteer villagers. Although the encirclement was not very tight, it was not easy for the Qing troops in Guangzhou to break out. Just as Shang Ke was inexplicably surprised, the Qing troops in the city
When the move was undecided, the Ming army quickly launched an attack. With the cooperation of the navy, a Ming army landed from the northwest of the city, surrounded Gaocheng in the north of the city, and attacked various forts in the northeast of the city. The vanguard Ming army also set out to attack the city.
Essentials of the Southwest.
Guangzhou's offense and defense are different from Xinhui. After all, Shang Kexi's army has the highest proportion of firearms among the Qing army. Due to the gap in performance, the muskets cannot compete with the Ming army. However, Shang's army has a large number of artillery pieces, which really makes it difficult for them to compete with the Ming army.
The Ming army's initial attack was not smooth. Then the Ming army adjusted their tactics, unloading heavy artillery from the naval ships, using artillery against artillery, basically destroying the enemy's artillery, and then launched an infantry attack. Finally, they occupied the
Advantage.
When the "Hailong" slowly sailed to the port of Guangzhou, the battle on the outskirts of Guangzhou was coming to an end. But the battle was fierce. Around the forts in the northeast of the city, both the enemy and ourselves invested a lot of force, with rumbling cannons and killing sounds.
Zhentian. Shang Kexi knew that this key point was of great importance. If it fell, it would mean the loss of all key points near Guangzhou. The Ming army could even bombard Guangzhou City from the fort. Therefore, he personally went to the city to supervise the battle and continuously sent reinforcements.
fort.
The Hudun Fort in the north of the city looks just like a mound from a distance, shaped like a crouching tiger. Looking closer, you can see that it is across the river from the city wall. It is surrounded by sheer cliffs, with a platform dug out in the middle and a cave.
Tonglian. The guards were firing cannons and arrows from the top, but it was difficult to get close to the bottom. The highest point of this tiger pier was a half-acre square flat land, with a stone building in the middle, and two trestles behind the building connected to the city.
The Qing army was able to provide side firepower on the city wall, covering the sides and back of the Hudun fort. The Ming army could only attack from the front. However, with the sharpness of the naval guns and the explosive bombs of the Tianwei cannon, the Hudun
The pier fort is still in danger.
Boom, boom, boom, three explosive bombs exploded next to the stone building at the top of the fort. The flying shrapnel swept across, and the Qing soldiers fell down one after another screaming and wailing.
Several heavy solid bullets whizzed and hit the Tiger Mound, splashing countless gravel and soil. The middle platform was already filled with falling stone debris and soil. The Qing soldiers were all huddled in the bunker and did not dare to move out.
The winding trenches continued to extend, approaching Hudun. Most of the Qing army's artillery was destroyed, and there was a blind spot for bombardment from a high position. As long as the trenches were dug to a certain distance, the Ming army could shoot with muskets, and the only remaining artillery of the Qing army could not do anything.
them.
Shang Kexi was also aware of the Ming army's intentions and ordered the artillery on the city wall to fire from the side to assist the battle, which had a certain impact on the Ming army's excavation. However, due to the obstruction of Hudun, the Ming army's artillery could not push too close, and there was nothing they could do.
The Qing troops on the city wall could not be reached.
The fighting stopped, the Ming army's artillery needed to cool down, and the attack needed to be adjusted; the Qing army temporarily defended the only fort and was able to maintain access to the city.
Zhu Yongxing disembarked from the boat without raising a flag and went directly to the camp in the southwest of the city under the protection of his guards. The news was not leaked, but the senior generals of the Ming army were notified and gathered in the camp to report the situation and wait for instructions.
The opening remarks were simple. Zhu Yongxing was very satisfied with the results achieved by the Ming army and praised the generals. When Guangzhou was captured, he would reward them based on their merits, which naturally made the generals secretly happy. Next came Ma Bao and
Wu Sansheng reported on the current war situation and the arrangements for attacking Guangzhou.
"Hu Dun doesn't seem that important, right? If it's difficult to attack, is it feasible to treat it as part of the city and surround it?" Zhu Yongxing felt that there was a small problem. Is it really necessary to waste too much ammunition in order to attack a fort?