I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 122 Entering Jiangnan

mid-February.

Jiangnan Province, Suzhou City.

Except for Wu Cunli, the governor of Jiangsu who was called to Nanjing by Longkodo, all the other civil and military officers who could be called were gathered on the tower at this moment.

Opposite these officials, a large army had already gathered outside Suzhou City.

Wearing red armor, with sun and moon flags, they are really Ming thieves, not only Ming thieves, but also real thieves in the rumors. At a rough look, there must be at least tens of thousands of them.

"President Shi, the army of Ming thieves is coming. What should we do?" These officials in Jiangnan are usually very pampered. They have never seen such a battle. They were so frightened that they were all in their calves. Shivering.

Although the other officials did not speak, their faces were also pale and they did not know what to do.

After listening to this, Shi Tingzhuan, the commander-in-chief of Susong Town, quickly raised his hands and said in relief: "Master Fantai, please be at ease. The Ming thieves seem to have a large number of people, but our Suzhou city also has high walls and thick soldiers and well-prepared troops. I am the only one." If we can't hold on, there will be nothing we can do even if the army of Ming thieves has three heads and six arms."

After saying that, he paused and added: "Moreover, if the Ming army really attacks Suzhou with such great fanfare, the Governor will definitely not stand idly by. We only have to defend it for a few days. As long as the Ming army is not a fool, we will definitely retreat." .”

The Jiangsu inspector on the side asked: "What if the thieves don't retreat?"

Shi Tingzhuan sneered: "Not retreating? That's just right. As soon as the governor's army arrives, this town and the governor will attack from both inside and outside, and let this gang of Ming thieves see that this rebellion is really going to cost them their heads."

Seeing Shi Tingzhuan being so confident, all the officials present were still a little uneasy, but they didn't say anything more.

Shi Tingzhuan added: "Today, the Ming Dynasty's army of thieves has arrived in Suzhou. Sir, please move ahead. This battlefield is extremely dangerous. If you are hurt, it will be the fault of this town."

When all the officials present heard this, they did not refuse even though they were already afraid, and they all got off the city wall under the escort of Qing soldiers under Shi Tingzhuan's command.

It was late afternoon.

"Command, attack the city!"

With Yang Gong's order, the war officially began.

Yang Gong's attack on Suzhou this time was just a spur-of-the-moment initiative without any plan. He would only attack wherever he hit, so he still used the same old method of coordinated infantry and artillery operations.

The messengers rode horses to and from various ministries to deliver siege orders.

The four vanguard camps were the first to make moves, and an army of nearly a thousand people carried cloud chariots and launched an assault on the Suzhou city wall.

At the same time that the first battalion launched the assault, the two demolition battalions at the rear also pushed shield trucks, and followed closely behind with coffins placed in the shield trucks.

The total strength of these two waves of Ming army siege troops alone reached more than a thousand.

Just as the Ming army's siege troops launched their charge, the artillery battalion in the rear also pushed all the artillery to the front of the formation.

Each artillery was manned by eight gunners. They skillfully loaded the shells and gunpowder, and then aimed at the Suzhou city wall and fired.

Relying on the power of the red cannons plus sugared gunpowder, the Ming army's artillery battalion fired directly and indiscriminately at the top of the Suzhou city. Under such heavy firepower suppression, Suzhou's city defense artillery could not even fight back, and the gunners did not even dare to probe. .

Shi Tingzhuan could only watch helplessly as the Ming army's first camp rushed to the city: "They are all artillery. Why are the artillery of these Ming thieves so powerful? Could it be that these Ming thieves have some deals with the Yi people in Nanyang?" "

Shi Tingzhuan also saw that the Ming army's artillery was very powerful, but the first thing he thought of was not that the Ming army had magical powers. Instead, he thought of the Yi people in Nanyang.

But soon, he gave up his thoughts because the Ming Army's artillery camp ceased fire, which meant that the Ming Army began to attack the city.

Countless Ming troops wearing red armor and holding knives in their mouths began to climb along the cloud chariot.

"Archers shoot arrows! Quick, bring up the rolling stones and hammered wood..." Shi Tingzhuan saw this and quickly ordered the defenders at the head of the city to attack in an orderly manner.

Since Longkoduo had taken precautions and ordered in advance, although Suzhou City was caught off guard, it was not unprepared. Countless Susong Town Qing soldiers and the Suzhou soldiers immediately entered the state.

Arrows, rolling stones, and trees were falling in turns, and almost every wave could always take away a few Ming troops.

However, the First Army is also a veteran after all. It has fought countless offensive and defensive battles like this, and its morale and experience are definitely not comparable to those of ordinary armies.

In just half a quarter of an hour, soldiers from the Ming Army climbed onto the top of the city.The Qing soldiers at the top of the city were all soldiers from the south of the Yangtze River. They were newborn calves and were not afraid. When they saw an Ming thief climbing up, they immediately chopped them down with their swords.

With these Susong Town Qing soldiers taking the lead, the remaining Suzhou soldiers wearing only uniforms were no longer afraid. They followed the Qing soldiers with swords, guns, sticks and various weapons to kill the Ming thieves who climbed up.

A hand-to-hand battle immediately broke out at the top of the city. The Qing army had the numerical advantage, but its combat power was not elite. The Ming army was elite and well-organized.

As the commander-in-chief of Susong Town, Shi Tingzhuo also did his duty. He led his soldiers with knives and kept going back and forth to support various city walls. With the strength of the people and the commander-in-chief taking the lead, those Ming troops who climbed up were the first to board. The battalion could not stand at the top of the city, and was soon driven off the city wall.

Shi Tingzhuan rested for a moment, and when he was about to get up and continue fighting, suddenly there was a burst of cheers from the top of the city.

"Headquarters, the traitors, the traitors have retreated..."

"Return?"

Shi Tingzhen was stunned. He quickly lay down on the battlement and took a look. He saw that the Ming thieves who were preparing to continue climbing the city a second ago seemed to have retreated. They were all retreating quickly.

"Really quit? No..."

Shi Tingzhuan was a general military officer after all, and he quickly realized something was wrong. The traitor mobilized troops and even used red cannons.

How long had they been fighting before they retreated?
At this time, he suddenly saw that the retreating Ming thieves had left something under the city, which were two shield carts.

Shi Tingzhuo was deeply impressed. After all, the shield car carried coffins to attack the city. It was so weird that it was difficult not to notice it. But now, he realized why the two coffins were missing?
Shi Tingzhuan hasn't figured out the reason yet.

"Boom! Boom!"

With two loud noises, the entire city not only shook violently, but even a large number of cracks appeared in the floor tiles. These cracks spread quickly like an earthquake.

Shi Tingzhuan was very unlucky. The cracks extended to his feet in the blink of an eye. He didn't even have time to react, and the city wall under his feet collapsed instantly.

'Does the Ming thief really have magic skills? '

These were the last words that came to Shi Tingzhuan's mind before he was buried alive by his own city wall.

Yang Gong looked at Suzhou City, which was still intact except for the city gate, and most of the walls on both sides had collapsed, and then he shouted: "Charge with the whole army!"

With an order, a total of [-] troops rushed towards Suzhou City. The Jiangnan soldiers in Suzhou City were caught off guard and tried to organize resistance, but even the commander-in-chief Shi Tingzhuan died.

Without a leader, the Qing army collapsed in Suzhou City, and the remaining troops either surrendered or fled in all directions.

As for those Suzhou soldiers who were brave, they took off their uniforms and hid in the city when the city was broken.

From the beginning to the end of the war, in less than half an hour, Suzhou City fell into Yang Gong's hands.

It took another two days for Yang Gong to basically clear out all the remaining enemies in the city.

As for how to eliminate it, it's very simple.

All the people in the city were called out directly, and those who dared not come out were executed, and those who were able-bodied were also screened.

The screening method is nothing more than asking them to tell common questions about their neighbors, the number of people in their family, etc.

What?If you can’t answer, then arrest him.

Moreover, the Ming army also encouraged people to report each other, and those who reported correctly would be rewarded.

This was enough for the Ming army to dig out the remnants of the Qing army from hiding.

As for those Bing Yong, they were originally Suzhou locals, and their combat effectiveness was extremely poor. It didn't matter whether they were found out or not.

Of course, if someone reports and is found out, they will also be arrested.

In just two days, Suzhou City was completely controlled by the Ming army.

(End of this chapter)