Chapter 948 0943 [This is the hometown of the Han family]
Brother Richard's rescue army is still on its way to Weifu Army Division, and there are numerous cracks in the walls of Tiande Army City.
But it still didn’t collapse!
The city wall here is short and thick, which happens to be the best structure to carry solid cannonballs.
On the third day of bombardment, the Ming gunners had already changed their thinking and concentrated their firepower on the southern city gate.
Even if the cannonball hits crookedly, it may hit the tower above, as well as the enemy parapets and war tents on both sides of the tower.
Before the Ming Dynasty, there was a chance that city gates and walls would collapse together.
It is not the arched city gate made of bricks that people think of. Most of the city gates in the Song Dynasty still use wooden beams and wooden columns. This is of course because they have not suffered the losses of artillery.
In other words, the various building structures and materials of the city wall have not been changed due to the widespread use of artillery.
The city gate is only one of them, there are other ancillary buildings.
For example, in the war sheds on the city wall, in the Ming Dynasty, in order to protect against artillery, the thin rammed earth parapets were replaced with brick walls, and the old war sheds were replaced with cantilevered structures. In the late Ming Dynasty, semicircular forts in the attached city were even designed, as well as
The eight-character embrasures in the female wall are all designed to protect against muskets and artillery used by the siege party.
In addition, the enemy towers are also different.
In the Song Dynasty, most of the enemy towers on the city walls were solid, and the defenders could only transport troops through horse roads, making it much easier to siege. However, in the Ming Dynasty, most of the enemy towers were hollow, so the defenders could quickly mobilize troops within the enemy towers, making it much more difficult to siege.
That's a geometric increase.
On the sixth day of artillery bombardment, the south gate wall of Tiande Army City collapsed, along with the tower above.
The reason is very simple, the standard Tang and Song Dynasty wooden beam city gates.
The wood used for the wooden beams and wooden pillars is very thick, but as long as it is hit by cannonballs dozens more times, the city gate may be directly crushed by the towers and walls above!
But the specific results caused pain for both the offensive and defensive sides.
It collapsed, but no gap was left. Even the city gate was blocked with rammed earth and wood. How could one not be depressed when attacking a city?
The defenders were even more depressed. The towers on the front to defend the enemy had all collapsed, and half of the enemy towers on both sides had also collapsed. The horse paths at that location were also a short distance away. In other words, the two central horse paths on this city wall were ruined.
, it is necessary to mobilize troops from far away when defending, and it is impossible to quickly deploy the reserve team when being suppressed by the first attack.
Yue Fei used a telescope to observe: "We no longer need to wait for the city wall to collapse. We can already attack the city. We only need to use two cloud ladders and more than ten flying ladders."
Han Shizhong understood what it meant: "Directly attack the enemy's platform?"
Yue Fei said: "Continue to bombard the city walls on both sides of the enemy's platform. One is to suppress the defenders on the city, and the other is to blow away the female walls. Then let the cavalry of all races shoot towards the city, and my Ming elite will take the opportunity to attack the enemy's platform."
Enemy towers, also called piers, can be built independently or relied on city walls.
For example, every once in a while on the Great Wall, there will be castle-like buildings. Those "castles" are actually enemy towers.
There are many protrusions on the city wall, which are also enemy towers, and there are war sheds built above them (which have the function of archery towers and can also be used for observation). The war sheds pass through the enemy towers and are connected to the city by horse roads. Troops can be quickly transported there, and many reserves can also be placed.
You can even hide a small group of cavalry inside.
Generally speaking, the siege team will not attack the enemy tower, and it is impossible to stand up if it climbs up. The defenders can continue to kill them. If it is a hollow enemy tower like the Ming Dynasty, it will be even more of a nightmare for the siege team.
This moment is very suitable. The city gate building has collapsed, the war tent on the enemy platform has long been blown down, there is nothing left on the parapet on the enemy platform, and the horse path connecting the enemy platform must also be damaged.
"Boom boom boom!"
The artillery fire continued, but the target changed.
Thousands of herdsmen cavalry from various ethnic groups, in teams of two to three hundred, took turns firing at various city walls. They rushed to shoot arrows during the intervals between artillery bombardments, and then withdrew after shooting two arrows, allowing the artillery to continue bombarding the city walls. The defenders were suppressed.
I didn't even dare to raise my head.
Two siege ladders and a large number of parapets slowly advanced towards both sides of the south city gate.
The main siege force was the Ming Dynasty infantry who were subsequently transferred, as well as many Ming Dynasty dismounted cavalry.
When it reaches a certain distance, the artillery stops completely for fear of accidentally injuring friendly forces.
Countless young men from the grassland rode forward and continued to shoot arrows at the city wall. This time they switched to iron arrows and were no longer allowed to use bone arrows and stone arrows.
Even the female wall was blown away, and the defenders could only lie down on the city wall.
Someone picked up the arrow and shouted in horror: "It's an iron arrow, the enemy is about to attack the city!"
Of course they are going to attack the city, and the ladders have been pushed over, but the defenders dare not get up, and they still haven't seen the position of the ladders yet.
But Ye Li Degui saw it. He was lying on an enemy platform far away from the city gate: "Send the order to Qigan, the two chiefs of Gulu, lead the elite to defend the enemy platform at the city gate!"
"All three sides are here!"
But I saw tens of thousands of young and strong grassland people, carrying extremely crude wooden ladders, cooperating to attack the city from the southeast and west.
Most of these grassland herdsmen were not wearing armor, and the siege ladders were rubbish. Moreover, when they rushed to the city wall and were shot with a few arrows, they were so frightened that they threw away the wooden ladders and turned around to run away. It was purely an atmosphere group to increase the sense of participation.
But the city defenders have to defend!
Yelu Eritu was so anxious that he sent his son to find Xizuo: "Go and ask Guo. We agreed to defect the next day when the city wall collapsed and there was a gap. What should we do if the Ming army attacks the city before there is a gap?"
Guo Sichang is also very anxious. His current identity is that of a herdsman from a tribe near Baotou. He has received a defense mission at this moment, and it is impossible for him to wander around and contact various ministries.
What makes it even more difficult is that the defense area he is in does not face the Ming army, but only defends the grassland tribes that rely on the Ming army.
I don’t know the progress of the Ming army’s siege at all!
The chief here, Yelu Lvma, asked: "Brother Guo, what should we do?"
Guo Sichang said: "Take action immediately. As long as we take action, other tribes will also take action. Quickly raise the plain flag and wave it!"
A plain flag is a white flag without any words. It is used as a signal to defect without fear of being mistaken, and it is easier to find cloth materials.
"Kill the party items!"
Yelu Donkey, Ma and his brothers each led half of their clansmen and attacked the defenders on both sides.
Another person held the plain flag high and waved it, and another person stretched the plain flag outside the city and waved it.
At the corresponding Ming Army observation tower outside the city, a lookout immediately saw the situation clearly through the telescope: "Quickly send a flag order. On the side of the second enemy tower south of the east city gate, there is a group of defenders who have defected and are fighting. Let the nearby
The soldiers from the grassland kill them and seize the city!"
Of course, the flag order cannot be issued in such a complicated manner, but it can point out the general direction and indicate that the defenders there have defected.
"Brother, Guo is taking action!"
"We hear it, we see it, we take action too."
Xiao Ludong was in reserve in the city, and he kept staring in Guo Sichang's direction.
In front of him were the Dangxiang elites, heading towards the city wall via the horse path. In order to preserve his strength, Xiao Lvdung did not dare to fight with the Dangxiang elites. Instead, he held a plain flag and rushed into the city to kill a group of Dangxiang women who were carrying supplies.
Moreover, they killed the group of women and fled, fearing that the elite party members would pursue them.
Then he rushed into the streets and shouted loudly: "The Ming army has entered the city! The Ming army has entered the city!"
While shouting, he did not forget to set fire to the house.
Yelu Eritu was located on another city wall. He did not see Guo Sichang's signal, but saw Xiao Donkey making trouble in the city. He immediately called his two sons and several brothers: "Hurry up. There will be big rewards for meritorious service. Wait.
The whole army is in chaos, and we rush straight to Yeli Degui!"
At the same time, two other small tribes also raised plain flags and rebelled.
Inside and on the city wall, the Xixia defenders were in a mess, and they couldn't figure out who the enemy was.
The elites of the Ming Dynasty continued to push up the cloud ladders and the walking parapet wall, while various grassland ministries had already set up ladders at the places where the defenders had defected.
The ladder is heavy and heavy, so you have to push it forward slowly.
The siege ladders of those prairie warriors were light and simple and could be carried away. Under normal circumstances, using such siege ladders would lead to death, but the defenders on the city wall were fighting among themselves and could not even care about the enemies rushing over.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Ye Li Degui called his son and said: "Escape quickly, it is important to save your life!"
Ye Li Degui's personal soldiers blew the horns, and the Xixia elites who were sent to defend the city left the city wall one after another in search of their own horses. They were well-equipped with soldiers and armor, and the warriors of all ethnic groups who had rebelled did not dare to face them, and they were frightened after a few blows.
Make way.
The chief beggar cadre rode up to catch up with Yeli Degui: "If we run away now, what will happen to our people?"
Ye Li Degui said: "How can we defend the city like this? If there is no woman, we can marry, and if there is no son, we can have children. When the court's reinforcements arrive, we can fight together and find our families! Do you still want to stay? I didn't listen.
Are all ethnic groups shouting to kill party members?"
The beggar cadres and chiefs gritted their teeth and had no choice but to abandon the old, weak, women, children, livestock and food, and lead the young and strong members of the clan on horseback to break out of the encirclement westward.
Yelu Eritu wanted to kill Yeli Degui for iron pots, tea, salt, silk and brocade, so he led his troops to charge at the Xixia elite.
The idea is great, but it quickly collapses.
Ye Li Degui led more than 4,000 cavalry and rushed out from the west city gate and the north city gate. The rest were blocked in the city and could not get out. Among those who successfully left the city, more than 1,000 people were equipped with armor, and the rest were from various party ministries.
The young and strong without armor.
"You go chase the fleeing enemy, and I will enter the city and take control." Yue Fei said.
Han Shizhong smiled and nodded: "Okay. Wait for me to come back and have a drink!"
Han Shizhong led the cavalry in reserve and chased the fleeing Yeli Degui. The ladders that had been pushed to the bottom of the city and all the dismounted cavalry were recalled, leaving only the infantry to continue attacking the city.
Ye Li Degui shouted: "Send orders to all the troops to block the pursuers!"
The military order was quickly issued, but no one was willing to obey. The party chiefs fled quickly with their tribes on horseback.
Moreover, since he is not wearing armor, he is much lighter and can escape faster than Noriduki's elites!
Han Shizhong led his army to run wildly for more than ten miles, and finally caught up with the Xixia elite.
He divided into two teams to destroy the enemy, and then led his own troops to bypass and continue the pursuit.
After escaping for more than forty miles, both sides were exhausted and both sides had a large number of cavalry left behind.
The mount under Han Shizhong's crotch is a good horse given by Ju Ming when he was awarded the title. All recipients have one, and the good horses are different according to the level of the title.
At the end of the chase, Han Shizhong left his soldiers far away, while Ye Li Degui only had a few riders left.
Ye Li Degui had already lost his mind. He heard the sound of horse hooves behind him weakening. When he looked back, he was overjoyed. He reined in his horse and slowed down and said, "There is only one enemy general chasing me. Follow me and fight back!"
This guy took his son and a few soldiers, slowed down and stopped, and prepared to fight.
Han Shizhong had already rushed forward, knocked over a soldier with one shot, and continued to charge towards Ye Li Degui.
Several of Ye Li Degui's personal soldiers did not get together when they escaped, and they were hundreds of meters apart from each other.
Han Shizhong knocked over two of them one after another. The third one was so frightened that he hit his horse to escape. He then distanced himself and fired his arrow.
Ye Li Degui was already counter-charging, but after seeing two soldiers killed, his son was also knocked off his horse. He was so frightened that he did not dare to fight anymore, turned around and continued to escape.
Also hit a hammer.
Han Shizhong wears the equipment of a Ming Dynasty cavalry general. Not only is he wearing a medium-sized armor with added materials, but even the war horse is covered in lint and cotton mixed armor.
If it weren't for his mount Shenjun, carrying such a heavy weight, it would have been impossible to pursue him at such a speed for dozens of miles, and he was getting closer and closer to the enemy.
When Han Shizhong chased him more than ten meters away, Ye Li Degui slowed down and shouted in Chinese: "I wish to surrender, I wish to surrender!"
Han Shizhong accelerated his horse, stretched out his hand, directly pulled Ye Li Degui up, and then threw him to the ground.
Han Shizhong spat and cursed: "If you had not surrendered earlier, your grandfather would have chased you for dozens of miles. If I run away with my horse, you will not die well!"
But he said Yue Fei's side.
Yue Fei led his cavalry into the city, shouting along the way: "No killing of prisoners, no looting, hurry up and put out the fire!"
This city was chosen by Emperor Zhu to be the headquarters of the Protectorate. The population could not be killed, nor could the facilities in the city be destroyed.
"In the past, murder and robbery were not counted, but from now on, anyone who dares to disobey orders will be killed without mercy!"
Yue Fei led his troops to attack everywhere in the city, and even called the chiefs of various ministries to give lectures, but he still could not suppress the rebels all over the city.
The sources of the rebels were varied, including those who followed the Ming army to attack the city, and some who defected within the city. They robbed women and property when they saw them, some deliberately hacked and killed prisoners to vent their anger, and some even started fighting over robbing things.
Yue Fei called several generals over: "You each lead your troops to suppress them. Anyone who disobeys orders will be killed immediately. Even tribal chiefs will be killed!"
After receiving the suppression order, the Ming Dynasty's knights began to rampage in the city, killing anyone who was still causing trouble, and even killed two chiefs on the spot.
Gradually, the riots in Tiande Military City subsided, and even the spreading fire stopped.
Yue Fei climbed to the top of the city and looked out at the vast grassland and the endlessly rolling Yellow River.
Over the years, he has been reading history books, and also read materials compiled by the Ministry of War and the Hanlin Academy. At this moment, he thinks a lot more than ordinary generals.
The three cities in Hexi that he had previously captured with a blitzkrieg were part of Xihe County in the Han Dynasty.
The city captured at this time belonged to Wuyuan County in the Han Dynasty.
The headquarters of the Western Xia Weifu Military Division was Shuofang County in the Han Dynasty.
Yue Fei turned around and looked at the distant mountains in the north, with a relaxed expression and a smile: "If you don't teach Huma to cross the Yin Mountain, you won't teach Huma to cross the Yin Mountain. The son of the Han family has finally returned with strength and tenacity to fight!"
The setting sun sets, there is no sunset, only the Yellow River flows endlessly, as if silently telling those border stories.
