Fourth Army Chief of Staff Fu Xiucheng looked at Taiyuan City ahead.
He lamented: "It's really not easy for us to reach Taiyuan all the way.
The divisions have joined forces and all officers have been called to a meeting to discuss the attack on Taiyuan."
Wu Jie's right arm was hanging on his neck, and his face was a little pale.
After hearing Fu Xiucheng's arrangement, he just nodded.
During the attack on Fenzhou Prefecture, his arm was injured by stones thrown by the Ming army. The fracture is still in pain.
Wang Zhixin, the commander of the Fourth Army, saw that Wu Jie was still insisting and advised: "Commander, you should go to the Fourth Army Field Hospital to rest for a while."
Wu Jie shook his head and said: "There's no point resting for a broken bone. It'll take a hundred days to break the muscles and bones.
It's supposed to be ready in a hundred days, but we can't do it in advance no matter what.
I'm pretty lucky, I'm lucky if I survive.
I can’t get out of the line of fire even if I’m slightly injured. I can only be considered slightly injured and I can’t stay in the field hospital.”
Wu Jie insisted on staying in the military tent and discussing the Battle of Taiyuan with other officers.
Outside the Fourth Army headquarters camp, officers from each division arrived one after another.
Han Shuliang, the commander of the first division, took the initiative to say hello: "Yanyan, Lao Du, Xiao Wen, Tianyou, Luo Zhe, Xiao Yuan.
It's great that you are all alive.
We successfully met at the foot of Taiyuan City.
I heard that all the army commanders have failed, and I’m really worried that something will happen to you.”
Su Yanyan, commander of the Second Division, responded with a smile: "Lao Han, Lao Gou and Chujiu are all fine, and of course we are fine too.
The Ming army suddenly wanted to take our lives. They were simply wishful thinking.
The Army Commander's disgrace was a complete accident.
Everyone knows the character of our military commander.
When attacking Fenzhou City, he had to step forward to boost morale.
Unexpectedly, there were only a few Hongyi cannons in Fenzhou City and a lot of trebuchets.
The low trebuchet is hidden directly within the city wall and cannot be seen with telescopes.
A stone as big as his head fell down and the commander only had his arm broken, so he was very lucky."
The Fourth Army was ordered to attack Shanxi, but Shanxi was a large area, so the Fourth Army divided its forces.
Wu Jie, commander of the Fourth Army, led the Second Division and the Third Division to attack Pingyang Prefecture, Fenzhou Prefecture and other counties in western Shanxi.
Fu Xiucheng, chief of staff of the Fourth Army, led the First Division to attack Zezhou, Lu'an Prefecture, Qinzhou, Liaozhou and other prefectures and counties in eastern Shanxi.
Their three divisions met at the foot of Taiyuan City.
Gou Maosheng, Chief of Staff of the First Division, asked: "You also encountered difficulties in Fenzhou City. This is the Qingcheng Palace in Fenzhou. It should be the Qingcheng Palace of the Jin Dynasty that provided the money.
Otherwise Fenzhou City would never be so difficult to attack.
This was also the case when we attacked Lu'an City. After our interrogation after the war, Prince Shen's Mansion paid out 300,000 taels of silver.
Each guard soldier was given military pay and rewards in advance, and a large number of young men were recruited to defend the city.
If you kill one of our soldiers, you will be rewarded fifty taels of silver.
Stimulated by a large amount of money, these young and strong defenders worked extremely hard.
If Shanxi's strong army and the main force were not in Datong Prefecture, it would be extremely difficult for us to capture Lu'an Prefecture."
Du Shengwen, Chief of Staff of the Second Division, nodded and said: "Lao Gou is right, Fenzhou City is also in the same situation.
The City Prince's Mansion didn't have much money, he only gave out 150,000 taels of silver and some salt and ironware.
These vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty saw the lessons learned from the past and understood the fate that fell into our hands.
Every time the Qin army besieged the city, these vassal kings donated generously.
Spread a large sum of money to support the Ming army in recruiting young men to defend the city.
Although their capabilities are limited and will not have much impact on us, the actions of these vassal kings will cause certain obstacles to our projects and slow down the speed of our army's actions."
Luo Zhe, Chief of Staff of the Third Division, then said: "An ant can still live in vain, let alone the current Ming Dynasty vassal king.
They knew that surrender would lead to death, and they would lose all their lives and money.
When they are besieged by us, these Ming vassal kings will definitely have to struggle.
Our army entered Shanxi first, and we have not yet heard the news that King Qin led his troops into North Zhili.
Our army must have enough time, and we must be the first Qin army to arrive near Shuntian Mansion."
Han Shuliang shook his head and said: "This statement is too optimistic. These counties in southern Shanxi are the least powerful in Shanxi.
Taiyuan City is not the most powerful city in Shanxi.
The strongest army of the Ming Dynasty in Shanxi was the Datong Ming Army, which was very famous on all sides.
When we capture Datong, it means we have officially captured Shanxi, and we can attack Shuntian Prefecture with confidence."
Su Yanyan, commander of the Second Division, watched everyone's discussion with great interest.
He glanced at the military headquarters camp and said:
"Don't discuss this matter. Let's go to the military headquarters. Don't keep the commander and others waiting."
A division-level officer of the Fourth Army walked into the command camp of the military headquarters.
Fu Xiucheng saw everyone sitting in their seats.
He pointed to the sand table in front of him and said: "Everyone should have seen this while attacking Shanxi.
Other cities are very easy to attack, but once there is a Ming vassal king in the city, this city will be extremely difficult to attack.
The Jin Palace in Taiyuan City and Shanxi General Soldier Hu Dawei were both loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
The secret guards tried many times but were unable to instigate rebellion.
He incited some generals in Taiyuan City to rebel, and was discovered by the Jin Yiwei, resulting in the loss of some men.
The only option we have now is to storm Taiyuan City.
We must exert all our energy to attack Taiyuan City."
Chief of Staff Fu Xiucheng finished introducing the tactics.
He and many officers discussed the method of attacking Taiyuan City.
In the end, they decided to attack the city according to traditional tactics.
The tactic of surrounding three ques and one is very old, but it is also extremely effective.
After Fu Xiucheng discussed the tactics, he arranged three divisions of the Fourth Army, with each division responsible for one wall of Taiyuan City.
The main division was not sent to the northern city wall, but the garrison was sent to ambush in the north and build a pocket formation.
As long as the Ming army in Taiyuan City cannot withstand the pressure of the Fourth Army and wants to escape, they will never be able to escape.
Fu Xiucheng finished arranging the combat tasks and asked all the armies to go back and make arrangements. At eight o'clock tomorrow morning, they will officially launch an attack on Taiyuan City.
Wu Jie saw that after the officers had finished their meeting, Han Shuliang, Gou Maosheng, and Zhang Chujiu came towards him.
He waved his movable left hand and said, "Don't worry! My body is in great shape. Just a few fractures will not affect me at all.
You go and arrange your positions quickly, so as not to affect tomorrow's battle."
…………………………
In Taiyuan City, the atmosphere of the Ming army was very tense.
Taiyuan Commander-in-Chief Hu Dawei looked at the housekeeper of the Jin Palace, frowned and said: "The prince wants to send the palace guards to supervise the battle, this is absolutely not possible.
I can't let help meddle with the army."
The steward of Prince Jin's Mansion smiled and said: "General Tiger has misunderstood, our prince will never interfere in the army.
If the guards can't supervise the battle, then it's okay to send the Jin Yiwei to investigate the officers, right?
Our palace has spent a lot of money and cannot give it to people who want to surrender to the thieves in yellow.
It is just investigating whether any generals want to surrender to the thieves in yellow, which will not affect normal operations.
As long as General Tiger agrees, we will provide another one million taels of silver and mobilize the tenants of the Jin Palace to assist General Tiger in defending the city."
When the steward of Prince Jin's Mansion saw that Hu Dawei was still hesitating, he said: "Commander Tiger, we are already grasshoppers on a rope.
If the thieves in yellow break through Taiyuan City, none of us will end well.
We at the Jin Palace are just trying to save our lives and have no other ideas."
Hu Dawei thought for a moment, and in order to defend Taiyuan City, he could only agree to the request of the Jin Palace.
As a foreigner, Hu Dawei was able to become the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province, a position that even Han people would find difficult to climb.
It is because he has outstanding abilities and is loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
He now had the same idea as King Jin and tried his best to defend Taiyuan City.
Hu Dawei looked at the housekeeper of Prince Jin's Mansion and said, "Okay, only Jin Yiwei is allowed to investigate. The silver coins given by Prince Jin's Mansion will be sent to my mansion as soon as possible."
Hu Dawei continued to inspect the city defenses. There were only five Hongyi cannons on each wall.
The Hongyi artillery allocated to Shanxi by the imperial court was basically given to Datong Town.
Hu Dawei received news that thieves in yellow had invaded Shanxi.
He did not send troops to support Fenyang, Lu'an and other places.
Instead, all troops and horses from the north of Shanxi outside Datong Town were transferred to Taiyuan City.
At the same time, he obtained a large sum of money from the Jin Palace and prepared to defend Taiyuan City.
Hu Dawei observed the previous war between the army and the thieves in yellow.
He believed that the officers and soldiers often failed because they always wanted to fight with the thieves in yellow.
Taiyuan is a fortified city, and if you defend the city, you can last longer.
Hu Dawei asked his soldiers to carry the silver to the city wall.
The soldiers shouted on the city wall: "General Hu Dawei has given everyone money."
Hu Dawei asked the defenders on the city wall to line up and take the money from him one by one.
"Serve the Ming Dynasty and obey my order, Hu Dawei.
When guarding the city, for every thief killed in yellow clothes, he will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver."
When Hu Dawei distributed money to every military household, he always chanted this sentence.
He must personally distribute the money to every military household.
In the army of the Ming Dynasty, it was common for civil servants to disappear, and for military generals to live on empty pay and drink the blood of soldiers.
Sixty percent of the money allocated by the imperial court to Shanxi every year was lost before it arrived in Shanxi.
He wants to give this money directly to the generals, and the big soldiers will not get even a tael of silver.
He had already called the generals of the Ming army to the camp in advance and specially distributed a huge amount of money to them.
Leading troops in battle depends on the command of these generals. Without feeding them, Taiyuan City cannot be defended.
When Hu Dawei handed out the money, his own soldiers shouted at the side:
"Everyone must do their best to defend Taiyuan City.
If you defend Taiyuan, after the war is over, General Tiger will receive a sum of money.
If any of you are killed in battle, this money will be distributed to your relatives."
Hu Dawei saw that after the money was distributed, the spirits and spirits of the soldiers changed.
The officers and soldiers are very powerful, and as long as they are given enough money, their powerful side can be stimulated.
He led his troops to win more than he lost, and he was willing to give money to his soldiers.
Hu Dawei has been constantly observing the movements of the thief in yellow these past few days.
He found that at first he only attacked the areas around Taiyuan City.
The thieves in yellow who besieged Taiyuan City today began to arrange their siege positions.
The yellow-clothed thief's method is to surround three towers and one of them. There will be no yellow-clothed thief to attack at the north gate.
But based on Hu Dawei's experience, it would be impossible for them to break out of Beicheng.
This tactic is already a very old tactic, and there must be an ambush in Beicheng.
Hu Dawei stood at the south city gate and watched the army of yellow-robed thieves press forward little by little.
He loudly ordered: "Everyone, concentrate on guarding Taiyuan City for me.
I have asked Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, for help. As long as we hold on for ten days and a half, the soldiers and horses of Datong will rescue Taiyuan City."
The Ming army on the city wall looked relaxed when they heard what Hu Dawei said.
Hu Dawei did send a letter asking for help to Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong.
But he was not sure at all whether Wang Pu would come.
Wang Pu was extremely famous among the Ming army. Before the army was defeated and he found that he could not defeat him, he would be the first to lead his troops to escape.
If Wang Pu has someone in the court, not only will he not be punished for doing so, but he will be promoted and rewarded.
Hu Dawei looked at this trend among the army and wanted to reverse it, but there was no way.
This situation has become irreversible, and people like him who work hard for the Ming Dynasty have become a very small minority.
…………………………
Wu Jie held up the telescope with his left hand to observe the situation in Taiyuan City.
"Taiyuan City is in order and there is no panic at all.
Shanxi Commander-in-Chief Hu Dawei is also a capable person."
Wang Zhixin nodded and said: "According to the intelligence from the Military Intelligence Bureau, this is indeed the case.
Hu Dawei was a famous general among the Ming army.
He is very good at fighting and has an excellent reputation."
Fu Xiucheng said with a smile: "Hu Dawei is good at cold weapon combat. Now is the age of guns. Generals like him will be eliminated on the battlefield."
A staff officer walked between them holding a document.
"Commander, Chief of Staff. Urgent report from Military Intelligence."
Fu Xiucheng took the information from his staff and after reading it he said:
"The Ming Dynasty court urgently recruited Datong's general soldier Wang Pu to come to Beijing to serve as king Qin.
A large number of Ming troops were building fortifications in Xuanfu Town.
A large number of Hongyi cannons are moving towards Xuanfu Town.
The Ming army in Datong Town also moved in the direction of Xuanfu Town."
Wu Jie heard the news and said: "The good news is that when we attack Taiyuan City, there will be no reinforcements from the Ming army to rescue us.
Taiyuan City is already within our grasp.
The bad news is that when we attack Xuanfu Town, we will encounter tens of thousands of Ming troops defending it, and we will definitely not be able to capture it in a short time."
Wang Zhixin said with a smile: "Good news is better than bad news.
The Ming army in Datong has escaped. If we capture Datong, we can still control the Great Wall and contact the cavalry division outside the pass.
In this way, the cavalry division can obtain a large amount of supplies from within the pass.
Logistics supply lines no longer need to cross grasslands and deserts.
We can also obtain a large number of horses and cavalry support from the Monan Mongolia region.
The cavalry division can't spare any effort, so send us some well-trained Mongolian soldiers, which should be fine.
Even with swords and guns, these Mongolian cavalry can defeat a small Ming army."
While they were talking, the roar of cannon sounded.
The Fourth Army began an all-out attack on Taiyuan City.
Wu Jie used a telescope to check the situation. The Ming army's defense in Taiyuan City was impenetrable.
The Qin army relied on the cover of artillery to suppress the Ming army on the top of Taiyuan City.
The moat of Taiyuan City has been filled with sandbags to create a road.
Qin soldiers had climbed up the city wall and threw a large number of grenades at the top of the city.
The Ming army withstood the explosion of grenades and drove the Qin army off the top of Taiyuan City.
When Chief of Staff Fu Xiucheng saw this situation, he suggested: "We are waiting for the heavy artillery.
Let the logistics department transport some heavy artillery to us through the river."
Wu Jie shook his head and said: "It has been planned before. After the river is opened up, heavy artillery will be transported to us through inland river transport ships.
It is not easy to go back on your words when things have been planned.
Our artillery is well-aimed and the soldiers aim at the city gate.
With the power of 120 artillery pieces, it is a bit difficult to blow down the thick city walls, but there is no problem in blowing open the city gates."
Wu Jie's order was quickly passed on to all armies.
The artillery regiment began to adjust the firepower of the artillery.
Let the cannons be concentrated near the city gate and bombard the city gate continuously.
When the city gate was designed, it was mainly to resist the enemy's use of ramming vehicles to attack the city, and no consideration was given to the continuous bombardment of artillery.
The Qin army's artillery concentrated its attack on the city gate area.
It only took them two days to blow open the city wall at the city gate.
The iron gate built by Jin Palace and Hu Dawei at a huge cost collapsed.
The Qin army rushed to the city gate with rolling logs and rocks on their backs.
The Qin army directly used explosives to blow up the boulders blocking the city gate and breached Taiyuan City.