scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 256

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After three days of patient preparation, at the beginning of the night on the first day of the twelfth lunar month in Kang Mazi's 12th year, the main force of the Wu army, who liked to launch sieges at night, finally launched an attack on Jingzhou Jiancheng.

Like the previous sieges by Xia Guoxiang's troops of the Wu army, the main force of the Wu army this time is still a new siege tactic of bombarding the city walls of Jingzhou with concentrated artillery. The focus of the artillery bombardment is also the west gate of Jingzhou chosen by Xia Guoxiang before. To contend, and dare not go out of the city to attack the Wu army's artillery position, and can only struggle and support under the raging Wu army's artillery.

After more than a year of actual combat training, Wu Jun's gunners have significantly improved their cannon handling skills compared to before. Not only have they been able to shoot more accurately through skillful adjustments to the shooting height, but the firing speed of the loaded ammunition has also been significantly faster than before. The mastery of the delayed explosion time of the blooming shells is also close to perfection. Basically, it can be air-bombed if it wants to be air-bombed, and it can be ground-bombed if it wants to be ground-bombed.In this way, the Qing army defenders on the west gate of Jingzhou were naturally in bad luck. They were completely unable to lift their heads under the pressure of Wu Jun's steel and gunpowder, unable to resist and had nowhere to escape.

Drawing on the experience of the previous artillery attack, Wu Jun artillery has completely eliminated the original black powder flowering shells, and even basically eliminated the less powerful nitrocellulose flowering shells, replacing them with the most powerful Sanhao brand explosive flowering shells, and Wu Jun The production of three good explosives in China can keep up with such a huge consumption. Apart from the old traitor Wu's willingness to spend money on this aspect, there is another very important reason, that is, after Wu Jun beat Yunnan and Guizhou, he unintentionally controlled a major gunpowder town—— — Liuyang County, Changsha Prefecture!
Since the Tang Dynasty, Liuyang has been the most famous hometown of gunpowder in China. Not counting the skilled craftsmen who are good at making firecrackers and fireworks in the county, there are countless skilled craftsmen who prepare and produce gunpowder. Because of the isolation, most of these skilled craftsmen lost their livelihoods, and when Wu Jun moved the firearms camp to Jiji Mountain in Ningxiang County, Changsha, because of the large number of gunpowder craftsmen recruited, these Liuyang craftsmen who had been living on gunpowder since childhood naturally flocked They rushed to Mount Jiji, not only providing Wu Jun with countless gunpowder craftsmen who did not need training at all, but also bringing Wu Jun countless various gunpowder production techniques. With the help of these gunpowder craftsmen, Wu Jun also He developed a nitroglycerin production process that cools down with running water, which greatly increased the output of nitroglycerin, and the output of Sanhao explosives naturally increased accordingly. Naturally, Wu Jun would not use the cheap and high-quality Sanhao gunpowder instead of using expensive ones. Poor nitrocellulose.

The story is far away, but let’s get down to business. From the beginning of the Wu army’s artillery siege, the Qing army defenders at the west gate of Jingzhou were completely in the hell of iron fire. The sound shook all the soldiers and generals of the Qing army on the city wall to be deaf, and the shock wave of the explosion made the city wall crumble again. The remaining and temporarily repaired garrison towers almost collapsed in the first round of artillery fire by the Wu army. The soldiers of the Qing army were even more pitiful. They were either blown to nothing, or they were swept up and down by the shock wave of the explosion, and they couldn't stand steadily. Countless soldiers were thrown off the city wall and fell to their deaths. Their internal organs were ruptured, and they died in an unspeakable pain. More soldiers of the Qing army stumbled and fled down the city wall, hiding in the dead corner of the artillery shooting behind the city wall, lingering on their last breath.

In just over half an hour, under the fierce bombardment of more than 100 large and small artillery pieces of the Wu army, the garrison tower on the west gate wall of Jingzhou was completely destroyed, and the city defenses such as arrow stacks, battlements, and antlers were basically swept away. And empty.It was also at this time that the old traitor Wu who personally directed the siege battle ordered to stop the shelling and moved the artillery position to the east gate of Jingzhou. At the same time, the siege infantry of the Wu army also began to march out. They were pushed to the edge of the moat and lined up to form a mobile fortification. The archers and musketeers of the Wu army hid behind the carts and fired arrows at the city wall to suppress the defenders on the city. Siege road.

"Bah! You old cunning old man!" After receiving the battle report of Wu's siege, Tuhai, La Bu and other Qing army commanders all spat heavily, scolding old Wu for being cautious and treacherous, not rushing to attack the city with ladders, Fill in the moat first, and make it clear that you are sharpening your knife and not mistakenly cutting firewood. You are going to fight steadily, and first clear the obstacles on the road to the siege, and then take Jingzhou Jiancheng with minimal casualties.

"My lord, if the slave's expectations are correct, Wu Gou will soon fire at the east city of Jingzhou again." After thinking nervously, Tu Hai quickly suggested to Prince Labu, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army in Jingzhou: "Our army should Withdrew most of the troops on the east gate wall as soon as possible, leaving only a small number of troops to monitor Wugou's movements to reduce unnecessary losses. As for the west gate, more archers and shotgunners should be sent up. Use the torches to light the oil, and try to shoot and kill Wu Gou's river-filling infantry."

"I'm afraid it won't work. We don't have much kerosene." La Bu said in a dilemma, "Wu Gou likes to attack the city at night. If the kerosene runs out, we will be caught blind in the future."

"It doesn't matter, the more intense we fight here, the more opportunities there will be for Xu Zhidu." Tu Hai shook his head, and said in a low voice: "Wu Gou's firearms are so sharp that our army can't resist them at all. Wu Sangui's siege tactics It is so steady, and if things go on like this, it will only be a matter of time before Jingzhou falls, so the slaves think that if our army wants to win in defeat, we have to gamble with Wu Gou."

Knowing the disparity in combat power between Wu Jun and his own, La Bu gritted his teeth, and finally accepted Tu Hai's suggestion, and gave the order according to Ce.After a while, groups of archers and shotgunners from the Qing army rushed to the top of Ximen City. They first threw down countless kerosene-soaked torches and firewood, and ignited a skyrocketing fire below the city to illuminate the movements of the Wu army infantry. Bows and arrows were fired together, and they desperately shot and killed the Wu army infantry who were carrying bags to fill the river.The archers and musketeers of the Wu army hiding behind the chariot fought back desperately. The arrows and projectiles above and below the city came and went like locusts, covering the sky and the moon, which was extremely spectacular.

The Qing army took such resolute counterattacks against the Wu army's river filling operation, even wasting a lot of the most useful and effective precious kerosene in the defending city for lighting, which was really beyond the expectations of the generals of the Wu army.However, long before the start of this battle, Wu Jun had already made psychological preparations to pay a heavy price. The Wu Jun infantry was still fighting against the sacks and sandbags to attack the Jingzhou city wall one after another, desperately filling up the siege weapons. Along the river moat, Wu Jun's archers and musketeers also kept pouring bow and arrow projectiles towards the top of the city wall all the time, competing with the Qing army for the consumption of arrowheads and ammunition.

About an hour later, the earth-shattering roar of artillery came from the direction of the east gate of Jingzhou. The artillery of the Wu Army, which had moved outside the east gate of Jingzhou, launched a strong attack on the fortifications of the east gate of the Qing army. The center trembled and gradually collapsed. The arrow stacks and battlements that the defenders relied on to hide were also gradually shattered under the raging artillery, losing their protective value. There was also an antler fence that prevented the ladder from approaching, and it continued to explode amidst continuous explosions. The fractures and shattered pieces completely lost the value of repair, and the soldiers of the Qing army were dying under the artillery fire, suffering unspeakably.

The tactics of this siege battle personally commanded by the old traitor Wu were indeed very cautious. During the entire night from the evening of the first day of the twelfth lunar month to the early morning of the second day of the twelfth lunar month, the Wu army never launched a ladder siege that consumed a huge amount of troops, but patiently took advantage of the artillery Sweeping the Qing army's fortifications, methodically filling up the Jingzhou moat that blocked the Wu army from attacking the city, and at the same time forcing the Qing army to waste a lot of supplies for the defense. When it was early dawn and the defenders had a clear view, the Wu army immediately retreated to the camp to rest, leaving only the cavalry The troops monitored the defenders to prevent the Qing army from leaving the city during the day to dredge the moat.

Although the cautious tactics are slow to take effect, the biggest advantage is that the effect is stable. After the one-night siege battle, the fortifications of the east and west gates of Jingzhou were completely destroyed by the Wu army's artillery, the moat of the west gate was also completely filled, and the moat of the east gate was completely destroyed. Filling up most of it is already difficult to prevent the Wu army's siege weapons from approaching, and the precious kerosene for night battles has also consumed more than half of the Wu army's continuous night battles in the past half a month, and the inventory is in jeopardy.

Faced with such a bad situation, not to mention the ordinary soldiers of the Qing army and the ordinary people in Jingzhou City, even the commanders of the Qing army such as Tuhai, Labu, and Tsani were all in a hurry, and Labu sent to Yiling to fight with them. The courier that Xu Zhi contacted has not yet responded. I don’t know if he was robbed and killed by Wu Jun on the way, or Xu Zhi didn’t have the courage to dig the embankment of thousands of people.

On the afternoon of the second day of the twelfth lunar month, just as Tu Hai, La Bu and others were discussing whether to send another team to break through to contact Xu Zhidu, a carrier pigeon descended from the sky carrying a letter written by Xu Zhidu. On a small piece of paper that is half a finger wide and one finger long, Xu Zhidu only wrote eight small characters——the preparations are complete, let's do it tonight!

"Thank you, thank you." Seeing these eight small crooked characters, Tu Hai, La Bu and other Qing army commanders heaved a sigh of relief, clasped their hands together and rejoiced, "Master is really a blessing, we are still alive I am worried, worried that Xu Zhi will not dare to touch this hand or that the new gunpowder is used up. Heaven bless, heaven bless."

"Hurry up, send the order." After rejoicing, La Bu hurriedly ordered again: "Have the soldiers stop repairing the gaps and arrow piles above the city wall, and repair the foundation instead. Be sure to block all places where water may enter."

"Wait!" Tu Hai stopped the messenger in time, turned to La Bu and cupped his hands and said, "My lord, according to my servant's opinion, if our army stops repairing the gaps and arrow stacks above the city wall, Wu Dog will definitely be suspicious, and may even deduce Our army will attack the Wanwan dike. Therefore, the servant believes that our army should continue to organize the people to repair the arrow stacks and gaps, and send another army to block the four gates and block the water intake tunnel."

"Tutang is really clever, and Wu Dog is treacherous and abnormal. If he finds the abnormality, he may be suspicious." Rabu was overjoyed, and quickly revised the order to let the army on the city continue to repair the gaps in the city wall and the arrow stacks. At the same time, another army was sent to block Jingzhou as soon as possible. Leaky tunnels where water may enter the city.

………………

Not to mention, Tu Hai's action really played a great role in confusing people, including Fatty Lu, who was recognized as the most treacherous in the Wu army. The water leaks under the city wall are still being repaired. At the same time, due to climate reasons, Wu Jun’s airship has not participated in the battle at the Jiji Mountain camp so far, so it cannot fly over Jingzhou City to scout the enemy’s situation. Therefore, Wu Jun is resting in peace. Wait patiently for it to be completely dark, and then take advantage of the night to attack the city.

The days in winter were short, and at the time of the first change, the sky was completely dark again, and the main force of the Wu army was dispatched again. They set up positions outside the east and west gates of Jingzhou, gearing up to attack the city. Wu's artillery was also concentrated at the west gate of Jingzhou again, preparing for The main siege provides cover.

At the [-]nd hour of Xushi, the artillery of the Wu army began to show off as usual. The indiscriminate bombing first destroyed the fortifications that the Qing army had finally repaired. Firepower; at the same time, a large number of ladders, cloud platforms, and iron-wrapped carts rushed forward by the Wu army began to move forward. The engineers of the Wu army in the car were frantically digging the city wall, preparing to fill it with explosives to blow up the city. In addition, the infantry of the Wu army also carried flying ladders and began to charge towards the city wall of the west gate of Jingzhou, creating pressure for the Qing army defenders to go to the city everywhere.

Ladder siege has been the cruelest tactic of attrition since ancient times. The battle basically started from the moment Wu Jun's ladder leaned against the city wall, and it completely entered a fever. Climbing and charging towards the city wall, the soldiers of the Qing army chanted the slogan that the city is alive, and they desperately shot and fired arrows, threw stones and smashed cars, and prevented the Wu army from digging the city. The same poured down, igniting one by one Wu Jun's cloud ladder platform, and carrying the giant wood to slam into the Wu Army's siege ladder, overturning the Wu Army soldiers one after another to the ground, shouting to kill in the city. The sound was like thunder, straight into the sky.

It was also at this time that the advantages of the strong combat effectiveness and rich experience of the soldiers of the Wu army began to be gradually manifested. The soldiers of the Wu army who climbed the city wall guarded the stairs to protect their companions from climbing the city. The soldiers of the Wu army who did not climb the city wall were calm and patiently looking for the enemy In view of the flaws in the city defense, the Qing army soldiers were selected to guard the weak wall sections to climb the city, instead of gathering together for the Qing army to defend easily.However, the Qing army also relied on its large number of soldiers and generals, and continuously invested troops on the city wall, carefully filling every possible gap, and fighting bitterly with the Wu army.

At the middle of the night of the fierce battle, there was a loud clatter of gold from the rear of the Wu army's siege team, and the soldiers of the Wu army, who had been unable to attack for a long time, began to retreat quickly. , sent hundreds of flowering shells to the city wall of the west gate, and sent them to the Qing soldiers who had no time to withdraw from the wall to escape. Amid the sound of rumbling explosions, the densely packed Qing soldiers on the city wall cried and howled, and were blown away by the Wu army's flowering shells. Flesh and blood were flying around, and countless Qing soldiers either panicked or were pushed by their companions, and fell directly from the city wall. They were either killed or injured, and the Qing soldiers crowded behind the city wall were also caught off guard. , was bombed by Wu Jun's flowering shells, causing heavy casualties and chaos.

"Mother day! Wu Gou still has such skills!" The news reached the Qing army headquarters in the safe zone behind the city wall. Tu Hai, La Bu and others all cursed at each other, and only then did they understand Wu Jun's sinister intentions - to use the siege to attack the city. The fierce battle attracted a large number of Qing troops to the city, and then suddenly retreated, killing and injuring Qing soldiers with heavy artillery!
"Hurry up and send an order. Once Wu Gou calls for gold, the soldiers in the city will retreat immediately, leaving only a small number of troops to monitor. Don't give Wu Gou such an opportunity!" Tu Hai quickly conveyed the countermeasures, and stomped his feet and said: "This Xu Zhidu Why don't you do it? It's three o'clock, if you don't do it again, there will be no chance!"

Different from the anger of the Qing army headquarters, at the same time, under the Wu army banner, because they saw the heavy casualties of the Qing army on the city, they were laughing and laughing. The old traitor Wu was very satisfied and patted Lu Fatty With a smile on his shoulder, he said, "It's still you, a clever kid, who figured out such a trick, first attracting Mangou to the city, and then suddenly fired, it really has a miraculous effect."

"Grandfather has won the award. It is also thanks to grandfather's ability to run the army well and train the soldiers so that orders can be enforced, and orders can be ordered." It has become an army full of dogs, and when the siege is so fierce, it suddenly hits the gold, and I am afraid that within half an hour, the troops in front will not be able to retreat back to the safe zone."

"My lord, if we encounter such a situation in the future, should we try a new siege tactic?" Wang Shirong was calmer, and after careful observation, he suggested: "In the future, when we have superior artillery to cover the siege, should we try to give up?" Use only light and flexible flying ladders to attack the city with heavy ladder vehicles and platform vehicles? In this case, wouldn’t it be more convenient for us to advance and retreat when attacking the city?”

"Regarding this point, you have to think carefully." The old man Wu said in a deep voice: "Although similar tricks are effective and can kill a large number of enemy troops, their morale can't be discouraged. When attacking a city, it is easy for soldiers to form Inertia, when attacking the city, it will only climb Mingjin, and refuse to fight to the death, but it will be counterproductive."

"Grandfather is brilliant, this theory is indeed very high, morale can only be boosted, not vented." Fatty Lu quickly flattered, and then suggested: "Grandfather, regarding the aspect of boosting morale, my grandson-in-law has another suggestion. , when our army was besieging the city, the slogans of killing were very messy, and the infection effect was very small, so my son-in-law thought that my grandfather should unify a simple and effective slogan so that the whole army can shout together and boost morale."

"Good suggestion." The old traitor Wu was very satisfied, and asked again: "Then what kind of slogan do you think is most suitable?"

"Da Zhou!" Fatty Lu replied decisively: "The word 'Da Zhou' not only represents the identity of our army, but also is simple and easy to remember, and easy to form a rhythm. When thousands of soldiers shout this slogan in unison, they will surely It can play the role of encouraging companions and deterring all dogs."

"Wonderful!" The old man Wu treacherously slapped his thigh, and quickly ordered: "All generals listen to the order. After a while, when our infantry begins to attack the city again, every time the flag is waved, the whole army will shout the word "Da Zhou!" "

"Obey!" Wu Jun and all the generals clasped their fists together and agreed.The old traitor Wu ordered again: "Pass this order to the front again, so that the siege soldiers can do the same..."

"Boom!"

The sudden violent explosion interrupted the old traitor Wu's order. The traitor Wu and the generals of the Wu army looked at the sound in surprise, but they were even more surprised to find that the explosion came from the tens of thousands of river embankments behind their own army. With a cry, flames suddenly appeared on the Ten Thousand Dike, and another extremely violent explosion rumbled.

"Who is it? Who blew up the embankment?" The old man Wu roared angrily, "This king has repeatedly told me not to move a single brick or stone of the embankment of thousands of people. Who is so courageous to blow up the embankment behind my king's back?"

"Grandfather, it can't be our army!" Fatty Lu roared, "If our soldiers blow up the embankment, it's impossible to do it at this time! It's full of dogs, it must be full of dogs!"

(End of this chapter)