Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 68
Duoduo mobilized more than [-] Qing soldiers to besiege Yangzhou on all sides, but lacked artillery support.

More than [-] horses attacked the city, so naturally they couldn't rush forward. Who would push the ladder, who would cover with bows and arrows, and who would climb up, all were determined. However, the Qing army could not suppress the artillery on the city, so they had to line up outside the camp and then advance down the city. .

The artillery in Yangzhou city was originally used in the western city, which was more difficult to defend, but with the recapture of Gaopo, the western city became the easiest place to defend.

Wang Yan seized hundreds of artillery pieces from the Qing army, which made the west city sufficient firepower. The artillery originally used to defend the west city could be distributed to the other three walls.

At noon, the Qing army under the city formed a formation outside the camp with a big victory, and then slowly advanced. There were many swords and guns, and the banners covered the sun.

"put!"

"Boom!" "Boom!"

The small Ming army school on the city watched the Qing army as dense as rice fields and ears of rice below the city, ordered the soldiers loudly, set fire to and fired cannons.

Amidst the rumbling sound of cannons, the artillery of the Ming army on the city was fired in unison, and exploded in the phalanx of the Qing army, killing dozens of people immediately.

The dense formation of the Qing army enabled the Ming army to achieve meritorious service with every shot, and the casualties made the Qing army gradually panic.

The Qing general who led the army saw that the army was still far away from Yangzhou City. If they marched in such an array, before they rushed to the city, the army would die or injure thousands of people.

Although the Qing army attacked the city with the most soldiers and horses ever, the Ming army in the city was not comparable to that when the Qing army first besieged Yangzhou.

After two months of the siege, countless young and strong people in Yangzhou were killed and injured, and those who survived became veterans of the battlefield, the elite who had been baptized by the flames of war.

Amidst the sound of the rumbling cannons, the military academy on the city wall was running back and forth, and the soldiers guarding the city seemed to be orderly. , battle-hardened.

Duoduo ordered the Qing army to attack the city in anger. Although the Qing army had a large number of horses, they were not prepared enough. The Qing army from the east, south, and north were originally responsible for the feint attack, and did not have many siege equipment. Therefore, although the momentum was great, there were no results. The Qing soldiers even rarely climbed the city wall.

In the west of the city, where Duoduo personally supervised the battle, he did not make any achievements, even worse than the other three sects.

The artillery of the Ming army on the high slope and the artillery of Yangzhou City intertwined and echoed, and the artillery shells were shot into the Qing army formation. Li Chengdong's attack on the west gate was equal to being attacked by two sides. The soldiers had no time to dodge, let alone attack the west gate. .

On the high slope, hundreds of cannons once forced the Yangzhou defenders to pay countless casualties in the west city. Even if the city wall collapsed, they did not dare to repair it on the ruins. wall.

Now that these artillery fell into the hands of the Ming army, Bai Yongfu's troops were immediately miserable.

It was not long before Bai Yongfu's troops surrendered to the Qing court. Not long after he led his troops to Yangzhou, Duoduo resorted to throwing away his corpse and attacking Yangzhou with the epidemic.

Duoduo ordered Bai Yongfu to attack Gaopo. He also knew that the defenders would be difficult to deal with, but he did not expect that it would be so difficult to attack.

Bai Yongfu accepted most of Liu Zeqing's family business. Although he has the title of general soldier, he has [-] soldiers under his command.

In order to please Doduo, Bai Yongfu selected the most elite [-] guards to fight, but before he could form his formation, he was fired by a volley of artillery, killing hundreds of people, and the army almost dispersed.

Bai Yongfu hacked and killed several panicked soldiers, managed to stabilize the army, and headed towards Gaopo, but under the continuous bombardment of the Ming army's artillery fire and Niaotong, he was unable to climb up to Gaopo at all.

Firearms are not good for field battles, but defending cities and fortresses are sharp weapons.

Bai Yongfu's troops suffered heavy casualties, and the green battalion under his command was shocked by the fierce artillery fire, so they began to work without any effort, and no longer tried their best to attack the village.

At this time, Duoduo, who was supposed to supervise the battle behind the green battalion, had already retreated five miles away from the city to watch the battle.

Almost all the artillery pieces of the Qing army fell into the hands of Wang Yan, especially the ten heavy artillery pieces that could hit several miles away, which became Duoduo's confidant.

"My lord, Li Chengdong suffered heavy losses and retreated!" The Qing army standing in the nest car and watching the battle at the west gate, saw the attacking Qing soldiers fleeing the city with flags and guns, and immediately reported to Duoduo loudly.

Duoduo was riding on a horse, and upon hearing the words, he ordered the guards to take a telescope to look at them, and saw that a large group of green battalions retreated with disheveled armor and flags, and their faces turned cold.

"Master!" The Qing soldiers on the nest cart reported again: "Bo Yongfu's troops have also retreated!"

The Qing soldiers who don't need to observe reminded that Duoduo had already seen the Qing soldiers retreating all over the mountains and plains.

He once said that Yangzhou would not be destroyed, so he asked the generals of the green battalion to come to see him, but the law does not punish the people, but it is impossible to really kill them.

At this time, with the passage of time, the anger in Duoduo's heart has been replaced by reason, and he also knows that without artillery, it will be difficult to attack Yangzhou.

Sure enough, after Li Chengdong and Bai Yongfu retreated, soldiers came to report, and the Qing troops on the other three sides also retreated from the city.

At this time, Duoduo saw that it was getting late, and a strong attack would only increase casualties and affect morale, so he ordered the army to withdraw and return to camp.

In the commander's tent, Duoduo once again convened the generals to discuss matters.

He sat behind the commander-in-chief with a gloomy expression on his face. All the generals were defeated and dared not speak, but stood aside with their heads bowed.

"Have you ever counted the number of casualties in today's attack on the city?" Duoduo asked, breaking the silence in the tent.

"Report to your lord! The battalions killed five thousand people and injured more than two thousand people!" Li Sutai helped Duoduo's military affairs counselor, so he went out to answer.

Duoduo frowned when he heard this number, and said angrily, "That man Wang Yan said that if I want to destroy Yangzhou, I have to exchange the lives of 20 warriors from the Qing Dynasty. , but five thousand people were lost in today's battle, if you don't do your best, how many five thousand can this king have and can be lost at the city of Yangzhou?"

"My lord, calm down!" Facing Duduo's anger, Bai Yongfu quickly knelt down and defended himself: "It's not that the slaves and others didn't do their best, it's because the Ming army's firearms are powerful, and the slaves' troops have suffered heavy casualties before they even fought. Demoralized."

"Yes! My lord! Without artillery, the minions were completely suppressed and beaten by the Ming army."

"My lord! The servant was almost hit by artillery, and he will no longer be able to serve the Qing Dynasty."

All the generals of the green battalion echoed one after another.

They surrendered to the Qing Dynasty to preserve their glory and wealth, and no one wanted to fight such a life-and-death battle.

Seeing the reaction of the generals, Duoduo knew that it was useless to blame him, and said, "I won't mention today's battle, but I still need a countermeasure to break Yangzhou."

"Report to the lord!" Bai Yongfu took the opportunity to offer a speech: "The servant thought that Yangzhou was already a cyst of the holy dynasty, and there was no need to attack it, just be trapped to death. The former emperor surrounded the Daling River, and broke the ancestor's birthday , the prince only needs to wait until Yangzhou's food is exhausted, and then he can take Yangzhou without spending any troops."

"I know what you said, but the imperial court is very urgent, so what can I do?" Duoduo said helplessly.

While Duoduo was discussing with the general, Yang Shouzhuang, the lucky general of the green camp guarding the East Day Camp, suddenly came outside the tent and said: "My lord! The servant Yang Shouzhuang has something to report!"

Duoduo heard the sound, and asked the guards to take him into the tent, and then asked, "What's the matter with you, please come quickly!"

Yang Shouzhuang knelt down on the ground, put a piece of silk with both hands and said: "My lord, the servant was ordered to clean up the battlefield under the city. Suddenly, a hundred catties of rice, a hundred sheets of bread, and a chicken and duck were thrown out of Yangzhou city. The silk is outside the city. The servants picked it up and reported it immediately."

Hearing this, Duoduo's face couldn't help changing, and when the guards presented the silk, he slowly unfolded it, only to see a line of large characters written on it in astonishment-"Stupid Duoduo, you can attack again, it seems that you will defend for another ten years! "

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(End of this chapter)