Before the Ming Dynasty, the city of Changsha only had earthen walls. After the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the city walls of Changsha were completely destroyed.
In the fifth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the construction of the Changsha City Wall.
According to the rules set by Zhu Yuanzhang, the responsible officials and craftsmen can be found for every brick and every section of city wall project.
Zhu Yuanzhang gave Changsha a solid city wall. According to the length at this time, the circumference of the Changsha city wall was more than fourteen miles, with nine city gates distributed on it.
The city wall is two feet and four feet high. The west side of the city is surrounded by the natural barrier of the Xiangjiang River, and a moat with a width of more than two feet has been dug on the other three sides.
The battle is about to begin. Four gates to the west, two gates to the north, two gates to the east, and one gate to the south are all closed.
Behind the battlements of the city wall on the Duanyang Gate in the south, Tang Peiyu looked at it from a distance and then returned to the gate tower with a straight face.
It was already August 27th. The east-route army commanded by Gu Shilong and the west-route army commanded by Geng Yongfeng had surrounded the east, north, and west sides of Changsha City seven days ago. Ningxiang County, Xiangyin County, and Liuyang County were all surrounded.
Abandon the defense.
Gu Shilong besieged but did not attack, and there was only one missing person among the three surrounded. Tang Peiyu thought that he was going to force himself, Zhu Jianjun, Fu Rongzhong and others to flee south to Hengzhou.
But today Duanyang Gate came to report that enemy troops also appeared in the south of the city. There were not many people, about two thousand, but the general's flag was Shang Botao of Nanchang Guard.
Why did Nanchang Wei come so quickly?
Nanchang Prefecture is more than 500 miles away from Changsha Prefecture, and we have to climb mountains and ridges along the way.
In this month, it will take time for the news to reach Jiangxi, it will take time to mobilize the troops, and it will also take time to march on the road.
Arriving at Prince Ji's Mansion, Zhu Jianjun asked eagerly: "Where did the enemy troops in the south of the city come from?"
Tang Peiyu looked at Fu Rongzhong before replying: "Nanchang Wei."
Zhu Jianjun's expression changed: The governor of Jiangxi is Wang Shouren.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty!" Tang Peiyu said, "Shang Botao only brought two thousand soldiers, and they came here lightly. They came suddenly. They must have been traveling on a starry night and were exhausted. Now the food, grass and military supplies still need to be transferred by Gu Shilong and Sun.
"According to the general's opinion, we must successfully defend Changsha for a few days, and we must not abandon the defense in the south. Please give an order from the prince, and the general will lead his army out of Duanyang Gate and annihilate Shang Botao's troops first."
"Are you sure? Now we must not retreat from Hengzhou in defeat, we can only move in with victory!"
Pu Zitong did not bring Zhu Zaiyan and his elite troops to Changsha to join them as promised, and Zhu Jianjun could no longer just abandon Changsha Mansion and go to Hengzhou.
With this fortified city, the food, salary and military resources that had been "collected" before, and the dense water network inside and outside Changsha City, Tang Peiyu was sure to hold on for two months.
Two months later, when the drought persisted and autumn crops were unsustainable, things took a turn for the better.
Now Tang Peiyu is leaving the city.
"Your Majesty, Pu Zitong will not come to help. The general will be alone here and cannot wait for Gu Shilong to divide his troops to the south and completely trap Changsha City." Tang Peiyu replied affirmatively, "To the west, Geng Yongfeng led the Jiuxi Guards, and Lizhou Qian
Husuo remained motionless, and he was not sure where Changde guard Zhan Huabi was now. Gu Shilong's army was to the north and east, and the general could not risk leaving the city. As long as the two thousand tired divisions in the south were defeated, Gu Shilong would definitely reorganize his army.
In the end, the general will return with victory and his morale will be greatly boosted. Then he can hold on and find fighting opportunities."
"How do you know it's not a plan?" Zhu Jianjun nodded uncertainly, "Gu Shilong had surrounded three people but one was missing, so he wanted to lure the king out of the city and flee south!"
Tang Peiyu shook his head repeatedly: "Chang Dewei acted like this, which is already a traitor to Gu Shilong. Now that Zhan Huabi has disappeared after plundering Anhua, Gu Shilong is also worried that he and the prince have already made a plan. If the battle in the south is in full swing, Zhan Huabi will
But suddenly broke out, then Gu Shilong would lose this battle! He didn't know that Zhan Huabi and the prince had no plan, and he didn't know that Pu Zitong had another plan, so he focused on stability. As long as the prince abandons the city and goes south, he will meet Gu Shilong.
He said that he conquered Changsha first, with merit and no fault."
"...But after all, Nanchang Guards has arrived with two thousand troops."
"The general will lead one thousand and one hundred elite troops out of the city to charge and kill, and wait for the work. This battle will be won. Please give the order, my lord!"
Nowadays, the south side must be used to make a fuss.
Tang Peiyu was convinced of his own judgment: Gu Shilong didn't know what Zhan Huabi and Pu Zitong were doing now. And if he used the south of Changsha as the main battlefield, the grain and grass transfer route would be longer, and he might also face the sudden attack of the Changde Guards and Hengzhou Guards at any time.
.
Shang Botao must have come via Pingxiang and Liling. I don't know what Gu Shilong's scruples were - he hadn't even set up a camp yet, so he must have sent an advance envoy to see Gu Shilong at this moment to follow his orders.
Zhu Jianjun finally gave the order, but at a discount: "General Tang will stay in the city to control the overall situation!"
Tang Peiyu lowered his head and accepted the order, thinking strangely: Are you afraid that I will run away with 800 elite soldiers?
But Tang Peiyu knew very well that when things had developed to this point, Tang Peiyu needed a victory even more! He could only defend the city and win a round, and wait until the more than 20,000 soldiers of the imperial court had to deal with the disaster for several months and then retreat a little.
Only then could Tang Peiyu gather the refugees, coerce the strong men, and expand his strength to go south.
In this way, even if Pu Zitong and Zhan Huabi merge, Tang Peiyu's power cannot be underestimated.
By then, Zhan Huabi will probably be led by Changsha Guards, who has a winning record!
Calling on his capable commander, Tang Peiyu said seriously: "In this battle, only the elite will be used to charge, and there is no need to be reluctant to fight! Nanchang Wei's exhausted troops are rushing to attack, and they have almost no combat power at the moment. As long as they charge for a while, Shang Botao's troops will be defeated.
!”
"General, please take your orders! General, please wait for the news!"
The soldiers in the south of the city leaned against the foot of a mountain in the southeast of Changsha County, and the Liuyang River turned a curve to the east of the mountain.
The place is surrounded by mountains and rivers, making it a good place to camp.
Tang Peiyu looked from a distance on the city wall, but could not see the movement of them logging and setting up camp.
This further confirmed Tang Peiyu's judgment: Shang Botao was just ordered by Wang Shouren to come to encircle and help out, but how to dispatch Shang Botao was still waiting for Gu Shilong's order.
Could it be that he arrived too quickly and did not have time to communicate with Gu Shilong as a messenger during the march?
It's indeed possible, and it's happening so fast.
It would take up to twenty days, more than 500 miles, and two thousand officers and soldiers to cross mountains and ridges. Tang Peiyu, who was in charge of the troops, knew what this concept was.
This battle must be won!
He was not idle either. In addition to the 1,000 elite soldiers, he also dispatched 1,500 Xiangyong soldiers to prepare to go out of the city from Xiaowu Gate in the southeast to respond at any time and block the enemy's rescue in the east of the city.
Duanyang Gate is at the southeast corner of the southern city wall of Changsha City. After leaving Duanyang Gate, there is a mountain to the south of Changsha City.
On the south side of the east wall of Changsha City, outside Liuyang Gate is Yangmei Mountain.
Today, this "tired division" flying the flag of Nanchang Wei Monk is stationed at the foot of Yangmei Mountain, guarding the valley between Changshan Mountain and Yangmei Mountain leading to Changsha City.
On the hillside, after the two men galloped back, they dismounted and came to the temporary military tent. They knelt on one knee and reported: "Two more mounted sentries came to the city. They followed the general's order. They just pretended to drive them away. They didn't
Chase.”
"Okay! Loosen the outside and tighten the inside. Bury the pot to make rice and rest on the spot. The traitor sentry must have more than two riders, ready to respond to the enemy at any time."
After that, he asked the person next to him: "How is Wuchang Guard in Guifeng Mountain?"
"General, just wait for the cannon to fire from here!"
"Let Laoqu pay attention to Fulong Mountain." Ji Weimin, the guerrilla general who led this two thousand "tired division", looked at the person next to him again, "Brother Si, south of Changsha Prefecture, I really didn't see Changdewei and Hengzhou.
Wei’s shadow?”
Si Cong, who had been ordered to sneak into Changsha Mansion to collect information before, appeared here and nodded firmly: "It is definitely not in Changsha Mansion. Chang Dewei went southwest to Baoqing Mansion after plundering Anhua. Now the people over there are
Although the news has not yet spread, there is no sign of the army passing through from Fenghuang Mountain to Fulong Mountain, or even to the Xiangtan area in the south."
"Okay!" Ji Weimin's eyes were excited, "Although I don't know what the problem is within the rebels, Tang Peiyu will never dare to let us gain a foothold in the south of the city and approach the wonderful peak outside the south gate. This first victory,
Our Shenji Battalion must win!"
This is not the Nanchang Guard who arrived in a hurry from Jiangxi, but the three thousand selected forwards of the Shenji Battalion who arrived in Baling County half a month ago.
Now that Gu Shilong has given them this credit, they can't help but grasp it.
With the cover of the besieging army in the east of the city, they bypassed the big bend of Liuyang River east of Guifeng Mountain and appeared here.
It was indeed a journey, but it was far from being a tired journey.
"General! General!" Another person ran over quickly, "The suspension bridge of Duanyang Gate has been lowered, and they have sent people to attack!"
"No rush!" Ji Weimin's eyes lit up even more, "Make it look like the whole army is in a panic and is standing tight!"
He was transferred to the Shenji Camp from Liaodong by Guo Xun. Now Yizheng Qianhu has been promoted to a guerrilla general and led the selection of front generals to go on an expedition. Gu Shilong gave him the credit of luring the enemy to fight for the first victory. His intention couldn't be more obvious.
.
His Majesty has re-trained the Shenji Battalion. This real first battle must be won but not defeated!
Outside the Duanyang Gate in the south of Changsha, eight hundred elite soldiers formed a formation after leaving the city.
After they first established a foothold outside the city amid vigilance, the sentinel reported: "General, the enemy has known that we have left the city, and is forming a formation in a panic, preparing to stick to the mountain."
"At one go, charge forward!"
There is only three miles of land. If we march quickly, we will be there in a moment.
Ji Weimin had already reached a rocky area on the hillside with a clear view, and then took out a treasure from his arms.
This is a treasure that Counselor Cui brought to the leading generals in the Beijing camp before departure. It came from Huangming University.
He put the telescope in front of his eyes and squinted one eye.
Along the way, he studied it many times. He didn't understand the reason. I heard that the mathematicians and craftsmen from the Mathematical School under the command of His Majesty worked together to polish it with colored glaze and fine copper. Although the vision was still blurry and a bit hazy, it was more or less
You can also see some movement in the distance clearly.
There are about a thousand people, the army is quite neat, and the soldiers are not weak.
They are the elite soldiers in the city!
That's natural, they all want their first win to boost their morale.
Ji Weimin put down the telescope, carefully put it into the wooden tube on his waist, and then said: "Let Lao Qu go around from the back of the mountain to the Liuyang Gate. When we show the big flag, these thousand
When the elite soldiers feel something is wrong and want to flee back to the city, there must be reinforcements to help them! I ordered Laoqu not to worry, wait for the reinforcements to arrive and cut off their escape! If all the more than a thousand elite soldiers of the Changsha Guards are wiped out, the city of Changsha will surely fall!
It’s better to use the new cannons in the forest first, and then we’ll shoot down the swarm of bees they brought out later!”
This telescope is a real military weapon, even more useful than the five new cannons he brought out now!
Now it is just the earliest trial sample. It will be polished more finely in the future. If more generals can possess this treasure, the Ming army will definitely be even more powerful.
Cui Counselor then said that this is the power of His Majesty's physical path.
It took less than a quarter of an hour for a thousand elite soldiers of the Changsha Guard to arrive at the hillside where the selected forwards of the Shenji Battalion were guarding.
It's very disadvantageous to attack from behind.
But the opponent is a tired teacher!
The thousand elite soldiers rested for a while and then began to charge.
"The knife player and Soft Wall are in front, protecting the swarm of bees, the firecrackers are behind, and the bows and arrows are behind, forming a formation to push them forward! Use rockets, abandon both guns, and let them get into chaos first!"
This was a field battle. In order to seize the opportunity in a hurry, he only pulled out five tanks filled with swarms of bees.
Since the opponent is stationed on the hillside, there is no need to bring any other guns and cannons even if they are close. The Nanchang Guard has come a long way, and it is even less likely to bring any powerful firearms or chariots.
There are five vehicles swarming to clear the way, which is enough to scare the enemy!
This is a field battle. On the field battlefields of the Ming Dynasty, weapons of this level would rarely appear.
It is too heavy, and it is inconvenient to adjust the angle to shoot upwards when used, and the range is also limited. Except for those on warships, in other cases, they are usually just placed on the city walls to defend the city, or they are transported in large trucks first and then unloaded.
The installation is stable and used for siege.
None of this can be done in a hurry.
Now, in front of the elite troops of the Changsha Guard are only sword players holding shields high. Not all sword players in the army are the same. Some are holding round shields and holding a javelin in each hand.
And some of them are now tightly holding a large square shield as big as a door panel.
This large square shield is called a soft wall, and the wooden boards are nailed with soft batting or leather. It can not only withstand the projectiles fired by fire guns, but the iron spikes on the side of the soft wall facing the enemy can also prevent the enemy from approaching.
At the same time, the team responsible for the swarm of bees also performed their respective duties. The swarm of bees was mounted on a wheelbarrow, but there were wooden feet on both sides of the handrails to fix it. Now, the strongman of the cart lowered his head and gritted his teeth to push the swarm forward.
.
Under the protection of the soft wall in front of the swarm, the rest of the people were nervously preparing.
If you want to ignite fire and burn the mountain, you need to use the flying crow of divine fire. One cartridge can hold four arrows. The leads are connected and can be ignited at the same time. In this swarm chariot, there are two rows of six cartridges, short and
In a short period of time, twenty-four arrows can be shot, covering a distance of a hundred feet.
But now to attack from behind, you need to get closer.
Ji Weimin watched the soldiers at the foot of the mountain roaring to take courage amidst the sound of drums and marching forward slowly. Instead, he ordered: "Let the front troops fire arrows and blunderbuss three times indiscriminately now. Don't fire in volleys. Then retreat twenty steps!"
Could it be that shrinking the formation allows the opposing team to perform better?
In the eyes of the commander of the Changsha Guard, he only saw that the enemy troops on the mountain began to fire arrows and blunderbuss before his own soldiers could enter the effective killing range.
Even if a powerful person throws arrows into the formation, they will only be nailed to the soft wall or shield, and no one will be injured. As for the fire blunderbuss, there is no need to worry at all if it is far away.
Then when he saw the enemy retreating in a panic, he didn't suspect any deception. He just thought that the enemy was even more frightened when they saw that his men came out with a swarm of swarms.
The range of a swarm of swarms is farther than that of a firecracker.
"Fire!" Seeing this, he gave the order without waiting for the swarm of swarms to reach a more lethal distance.
If the opponent shows signs of collapse due to panic, then the battle will be easier - on the battlefield, morale is more important than anything else.
The Nanchang Guards came from afar, not knowing the terrain and being exhausted. Everyone knew the quality of the local guards. The Changsha Guards brought out elite soldiers from all the guards. Could it be that the two thousand Nanchang Guards had better training and weapons?
powerful?
The soft wall in the front row suddenly spread out, leaving five openings, and a swarm of swarms stayed at a relatively safe distance to set up.
It happens to be still on a slope, with an elevation angle.
"Whoosh -" After the fuse was ignited, the divine fire flying crows in several cartridges could not be said to be emitted at the same time, but they were not in any particular order.
The rockets were thrown upwards with a sharp whistling sound, and many arrows did not necessarily hit the opponent's formation. After all, there were knife players on the opposite side protecting them in front, and the slope was not flat, with many rocks blocking them.
But the momentum is here.
The commander of the Changsha Guard obviously saw the soldiers of the Nanchang Guard take a few steps back and looked even more panicked.
"Charge over, shoot the arrow, abandon the gun, and prepare again in a swarm!"
What you fight is chaos!
In a hurry, he wanted to start a pursuit battle. They were forced to the mountain, and they could escape faster.
Generally speaking, sword players with javelins only have one of the two guns in their hands that is discarded. Throw it once to kill the enemy in the distance. The second gun should be held in your hand to prevent the opponent from charging into the formation.
.If the enemy is approaching, this second gun can kill for a while. Only when both guns are gone, is the moment to pull out the long knife from your waist and fight for your life.
Now the order came, and instantly dozens of javelins were pierced up the slope.
The distance is already very close, arrows and firecracker projectiles are coming from the hillside, and their javelins can also penetrate into the enemy's formation - the swordsman with the javelin has extraordinary arm strength.
The thousand elite soldiers of the Changsha Guards rushed forward another twenty steps, and the front rows of the two armies were less than forty steps apart. The sword players holding up the soft wall had just dispersed, preparing to let the swarm of swarms fire another round.
At this moment, loud noises were suddenly heard from the dense forests on the left and right sides of the mountain.
"Boom", "boom", "boom", "boom", "boom".
Tang Peiyu, who was far away in the city of Changsha, also heard five faint sounds.
His expression suddenly changed: How could the Nanchang Guards who had arrived in Changsha in such a short time still be carrying a blunderbuss?
No! There's something different about this sound!
Then, he finally remembered that he should have arrived at the Shenji Camp in Huguang to select strikers. But even the Shenji Camp could not carry a big gun with him!
Besides, how could Gu Shilong use the Xinjing camp trained by the puppet emperor as a forward?
In the first battle, the casualties were quite heavy!
"It's a trap! Hurry! Get out of the city for rescue!"
Unless Gu Shilong's army has circled from Liuyang River to the southeast!
Liuyang Gate was opened wide, and Tang Peiyu led his army out of the city.
At the same time as the cannon sounded, Ji Weimin shouted: "Change the flag! Form an formation! Kill!"
The flag of the Shenji Camp was raised, and the soldiers who had seemed a little panicked before suddenly changed their spirits, and the firecrackers and bows and arrows in their hands began to be thrown down from top to bottom in synchronization.
At the same time, war drums could be heard faintly from Guifeng Mountain in the distance, as well as the roars of an unknown number of people.
Three of Changsha Guard's five vehicles were destroyed in the previous round of bombardment, and countless sword players in the front row fell to the ground and wailed.
The commanding officer felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured on him.
Where is the cannon? Why can't it be seen? Can it shoot so far and so accurately?
How could the projectile explode in such a large area?