Chapter 302 Digging tunnels and blowing up the city wall
4333 (the ninth year of Chongzhen), May 22nd.
The Qin army has been attacking the city for five days, but has not made much progress.
Su He was in the Chinese army's tent, listening to a report from Deputy Chief of General Staff Wang Shiyuan.
"Your Majesty, the Fourth Army and the Seventh Army have conducted exploratory sieges in the past five days.
The Ming army's firepower was very strong, and the siege troops suffered too many casualties. After trying it, the army did not choose to continue the siege."
Su He listened to Wang Shiyuan's report. He also went to various armies in the past few days to understand their siege situation.
The morale of the Ming army is still very strong, and it is far from being at the end of its rope.
The Ming army was not offensive enough, so there was no big problem in defending the city.
As the most powerful city in the Ming Dynasty, the capital was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Historically, Li Zicheng was able to capture the capital easily.
That was when a large-scale plague broke out in the capital, and a large number of defenders and young men died in the capital.
In this way, Li Zicheng did not capture the capital in a short time, but chose to besiege the capital for a long time.
In the end, there were no soldiers left to defend the city. Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, and Wang Dehua, the chief minister of rites, opened the gates of the capital and surrendered to Li Zicheng.
Li Zili was unable to secure his footing and rashly attacked Shanhaiguan, and his soldiers were infected with the plague.
Shanhaiguan was defeated and he voluntarily abandoned the capital, allowing Jiannu to get a big advantage.
Now the capital has not suffered from a major epidemic, and it has not reached the end of its rope. No one will open the city gates and surrender at this time.
Su He saw a dark shadow running out of the tent. His pet cat, Dahei, was chasing a field mouse.
In order to prevent the army from contracting infectious diseases, the health regulations of the Qin army were extremely strict.
Zhu Shi at the grassroots level of the Qin Army was responsible for the health management of the operation.
The Qin army's camps were all equipped with traps to catch mice, and they also kept cats specifically designed to catch mice.
Su He brought a dozen young cats from Hanzhong.
The big black cat that ran out just now is the most diligent in catching mice.
Su He saw the big black cat kill the mouse and ran back leisurely.
He reached out and touched the cat's head and rewarded it with a small dried fish.
Su He thought of the mouse, his eyes lit up and he said: "Shiyuan, what do you think we dig tunnels to attack the city?"
Wang Shiyuan shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, digging tunnels is a good siege strategy.
But if there are more people using it, tunnels will be dug to prevent siege when building a city.
For example, the foundations of capital cities like Beijing are made of blocks of stone, which cannot be dug through at all.
Water tanks were also used at the city wall to monitor whether the enemy troops were digging tunnels.
Once it is noticed that someone is digging a tunnel, heavy troops will be dispatched to guard the entrance of the tunnel.
When the time comes, no matter whether they use smoke or water, the soldiers digging the tunnels will not survive.
No matter how powerful the army is, if they encounter smoke and water in the narrow place in the tunnel, they will have no way to survive."
Su He listened to Wang Shiyuan's explanation and knew that Wang Shiyuan had misunderstood.
"Shiyuan, I'm not using this earliest form of tunnel warfare.
Dig tunnels leading into the city and send elite troops to rush out and seize the city.
You still remember that our army did not have cannons in the early days, so the way to capture the city was to use black powder to blow down the city walls.
Now we have powerful yellow explosives, we just need to bury the explosives under the city.
No matter how strong the city walls are, they cannot withstand the power of explosive explosions.
The firepower on the walls of the capital city is too strong now, and our army cannot rush to the city walls.
Digging trenches close to the city wall would cause serious casualties, and it would easily attract the attention of the Ming army.
In one step, dig tunnels directly to the city wall, bury yellow explosives under the city, and blow down the city wall directly.
Shiyuan, what do you think of this strategy?"
Wang Shiyuan thought carefully about Qin Wang Su He's thoughts.
"Your Majesty, this strategy is worth trying, adopt this strategy.
Failure will not affect the current plan to attack the city with artillery.
If we succeed, we will be able to capture the capital in a short time.
Now observe the situation of the Ming army on the capital city wall.
According to our current siege speed, it will take quite a while to capture the capital."
Su He and Wang Shiyuan called the staff from the General Staff Department, and they discussed the plan together and improved the details of the plan.
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Li Dazhuang asked Su Hu: "The king called us all over. What happened?"
Su Hu pointed to the Chinese army's tent and said: "The king is inside, we will know it right away.
Send someone to inform our guards. Didn't you already say that the king has a new siege plan? Let us try it."
All senior officers of the four armies were called to the Chinese army's tent by Su He.
"This is a new plan that I discussed with the staff. It will not affect the original siege plan.
You go back and give it a try to see if it can succeed. If this plan succeeds, we will take the capital earlier."
Su Hu took the information handed over by the guard.
He read carefully the plan called tunnel warfare.
After reading it, Su Hu said: "Your Majesty, this plan is very feasible.
As long as the underground passage can be excavated smoothly.
With the power of yellow explosives, it is not difficult to blow down the walls of the capital city.
Yellow explosives are extremely powerful. We did experiments when we dismantled the Weihe Fort.
A sufficient amount of yellow explosive can directly blow up reinforced concrete buildings to pieces.
The main body of the capital is made of earth and masonry, and even though it is tall and thick, it is built very tightly.
You definitely can’t withstand the power of yellow explosives.”
After Li Dazhuang read it, he nodded and said: "This method is not difficult to blow down the city wall. The key is to dig a tunnel.
Not all land is suitable for digging tunnels.
Most places in Shaanxi and Henan are suitable for tunnel digging.
The land there is so dense that no water will come out even if you dig several meters deep.
Here in the capital, when we dig a well, water will come out after digging a few meters.
The area near the river in Dongcheng is not suitable for digging tunnels."
Wu Jie also nodded and said: "Our place in Beicheng is also close to the river, and water will come out after digging a few meters deep.
Digging a few meters of tunnel is not as good as digging a trench.
I dug trenches in Beicheng, and I dug them a little deeper, but the bottom of the trench was very wet, and sometimes there was a layer of water."
Li Dazhuang and Wu Jie immediately gave up the plan to dig tunnels to siege the city.
Many places on their land are not suitable for digging tunnels.
I want to explore a path suitable for digging tunnels.
With this skill, the capital city would have been captured by them long ago.
Qi Gangyi and Su Hu were responsible for executing the plan of digging tunnels to attack the city.
After the implementation of this plan, Su He has been paying attention to the progress of this plan.
The Qin army moved very quickly and the excavation rate continued steadily.
The time has come to June 5th.
Su He rushed to the camp of the Imperial Guards.
He saw Qin soldiers covered in mud and vomiting blood.
Qi Gangyi introduced from the side: "Your Majesty, I have chosen two tunnels here in Xicheng.
When digging near the moat, both tunnels collapsed.
Many soldiers were injured.
I guess there is something wrong with the direction and depth of the tunnel I chose.
I will sum up my experience and try again.”
Su Hu waved his hand and said: "This is not suitable for digging tunnels, so don't be too pushy.
The Third Army's tunnel excavation went very smoothly.
The Third Army dug a total of three tunnels, and none of them had problems.
I was informed just now that they have dug tunnels to the bottom of the capital city and are drilling holes to install explosives.
At that time, you will wait for the news. If the third army succeeds, it will be the time for us to attack the capital."
The Third Army had dug tunnels, and he gave Su He great confidence.
As long as the third army's blast is successful and the south wall of the capital is blown down, the Qin army can hope to capture the capital.
If the capital is captured, the Ming Dynasty will be declared doomed.
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Zhu Chunchen inspected the south city wall.
During this period, the yellow-robed thieves attacked the city with great intensity, especially their explosive shells, which could hit the city wall directly.
If the city wall had not been fortified with stones, the Hongyi cannon would have been hidden in the fortress.
The red cannons on the city wall had long been completely destroyed by the thieves in yellow.
In this way, the guardsmen also suffered heavy casualties, and the southern city wall has been handed over to the Beijing camp for defense.
As soon as the Beijing camp stepped onto the city wall the day before yesterday, many soldiers from the Beijing camp fled down the city wall.
This directly angered Emperor Chongzhen, who sent Jinyi guards to watch on the city wall.
No matter who escapes, let Jin Yiwei execute him on the spot.
Zhu Chunchen, the top Ming Dynasty nobleman, needed to patrol the city walls.
"Mr. Cheng, it's not good.
We placed a large tank under the city to prevent anyone from digging tunnels to attack the city.
There is a noise inside the vat now, and the thieves in yellow are digging tunnels and preparing to attack us through the tunnels."
When Zhu Chunchen heard the news, he hurriedly ran down the city wall.
Now he had good reason to leave the dangerous city walls.
He came to the corner of the city wall, where two Ming soldiers with extremely sensitive ears were leaning against the mouth of a large vat, listening to what was going on inside.
Zhu Chunchen asked quickly: "Make sure it's the thieves in yellow digging tunnels, not the explosion of shells outside."
When the military household of the Ming Dynasty saw Zhu Chunchen, it was the first time he saw a big shot of this status, and his tone was trembling.
"Sir, my little man's ears are extremely sensitive.
The sound of explosions and the sound of digging underground can be distinguished very clearly in my ears.
I can be very sure that this is the thief in yellow digging a tunnel."
Zhu Chunchen also put his ear to the edge of the vat. Under the guidance of the Ming army military household, he could hear the rhythmic sound of shoveling soil.
Through these large tanks, he could also confirm the direction in which the thief in yellow was digging the tunnel.
The thieves in yellow dug a total of three tunnels, all leading to the vicinity of the Temple of Heaven.
"The Temple of Heaven is usually empty and deserted, so it is indeed suitable for thieves in yellow clothes to come out of the tunnel."
Zhu Chunchen had read military books and knew how to deal with the enemy's attack on the city by digging tunnels.
He first sent someone to inform Emperor Chongzhen of the news.
Emperor Chongzhen must first know the news before he can show his ability as Duke Zhu Chunchen.
This way he will have greater power.
Ming Dynasty is getting worse day by day. Only with greater power can we sell ourselves at a good price.
Zhu Chunchen secretly contacted Qin Jun's people, and he was very dissatisfied with the price they gave him, so the negotiation broke down immediately.
Zhu Chunchen commanded the Ming army in the Temple of Heaven and had made sufficient preparations.
Just wait for the thieves in yellow to dig the tunnels, and then you can send the thieves in yellow to heaven.
Zhu Chunchen waited anxiously, but the thieves in yellow had not yet dug a tunnel into the city.
He immediately went to the monitoring location and asked the monitoring personnel.
The Ming army soldier said helplessly: "Sir, I don't know the specific situation.
The thieves in yellow dug under the city, and I only heard violent banging sounds, and then the sound gradually disappeared, and they seemed to stop digging forward."
When Zhu Chunchen heard this, he said with emotion: "Maybe they encountered a huge boulder in the field.
I have read in books that the foundations of the capital city walls are all made of huge stones."
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June 13th, morning.
Su He looked at the huge tunnel in front of him.
The tunnel was dug so wide that soldiers could pass through it while bending down.
He asked Su Hu: "The day before yesterday, we had dug the city wall of the capital.
Now the soldiers are planting yellow explosives, how is the situation?"
Su Hu smiled and said happily: "Your Majesty, the three tunnels dug by our Third Army have been dug under the city wall of the capital.
These three tunnels are all near the Temple of Heaven.
After detailed calculations by the Corps of Engineers.
As long as they are detonated at the same time, the city wall of the capital will be blown down.
Now the engineering troops have dug into the foundation of the capital city wall, which is composed of many strips of huge stones.
Now the engineers are digging holes in the boulders and installing yellow explosives.
I guess the time is almost up and they will be out soon."
Su He waited patiently for the engineering soldiers to come out.
Now that the plan has reached this stage, only the engineering troops are needed to blow down the walls of the capital city.
Su He and Su Hu have been waiting at the tunnel entrance.
At about nine o'clock in the morning, the engineering troops came out of the tunnel.
They also held a bamboo joint with a white lead in the center.
Li Heiniu, commander of the engineering company, came out and saw Su He and Su Hu outside the tunnel entrance.
He said excitedly: "Your Majesty, Commander, we have succeeded. We have placed yellow explosives under the city wall of the capital."
When Su He heard the news, he immediately ordered: "Beat the drums and let the armies prepare to attack."
In the Third Army camp, huge war drums sounded.
When Qi Gangyi and Wu Jie heard the sound of drums, they immediately became energetic and ordered their troops to prepare for the attack.
When Li Dazhuang heard the sound of war drums, he looked towards the hot air balloon troops in the southeast corner of the capital.
The Guard Regiment and a company of the Seventh Army were already there ready to parachute into the Forbidden City.
The wind is from the southeast today, and the wind is not too strong, which is suitable for hot air balloon troops to operate.
The Seventh Army was also prepared and ready to attack the city at any time.
Next to the tunnel of the Third Army's camp.
Su He watched all the engineering troops come out.
The three fuses have been connected together.
Su He held a torch and asked: "The yellow explosive is very powerful, should we light it directly here?"
Do you need to retreat a certain distance?"
Li Heiniu replied confidently: "Your Majesty, the explosives exploded deep underground and had little impact on the ground. Our troops do not need to retreat."
When Su He heard the exact news, he lit the fuse with a torch.
The sound of the fuze sounded.
The fuse burned quickly and soon ignited the yellow explosives underneath the capital city wall.
Su He only heard three very dull sounds.
He only felt three consecutive vibrations on the soles of his feet.
The shaking of the earth was so violent that he could feel the earth shaking.
With a loud bang, Su He saw that the wall of the capital in front of him had collapsed for a full 300 meters.