Ming Empire

Chapter 142 Attack Again
The gunpowder was quickly used up, which was a heavy burden on everyone's mind.

Although the people who participated in the military meeting put forward various suggestions and made promises, they would definitely lead the soldiers under their command to fight to the end. Even if there was no gunpowder, they still used their knives, bows and arrows, and even their fists and teeth to fight Jiannu desperately until last person.But no one knows that without gunpowder, the combat power of the Datong Army will be doubled, and the casualties will be doubled.

No one can predict what the final outcome will be.This made the generals who were originally very optimistic and thought that they could win Jiannu and win the battle cast a shadow in their hearts.

Cao Yue knew that this matter would affect the morale and the confidence of the leading generals, but he had to tell the generals the real situation.There is not much ammunition left, so you must use it sparingly, otherwise all the ammunition will be used up, and big things will eventually happen.

He also made an arrangement in front of the hall. Starting tomorrow, ammunition should be used sparingly. When facing the Han army, Korean army, and Mongolian army attacking the city, he should use guns as little as possible and deal with them with bows and arrows, rolling stones, wood, and hot oil. The Jurchen elite riders appeared within the shooting range of the muskets, and then the musketeer battalion concentrated shooting, trying to make the Jurchen elite riders pay a heavy price.

Cao Yue, who had read history books, knew that the Jurchen population in Jiannu was very small, with only a few hundred thousand men, women and children, and only a few hundred thousand young and middle-aged men who could fight.The population replenishment is very slow. If this battle can kill a large number of Jurchen main forces, then the vitality of Jiannu will be further damaged.

The stock of gunpowder is insufficient, so the only way to do this is to use gunpowder mainly to deal with the Jurchen Jingqi.

After re-making tactical arrangements, Cao Yue also ordered the generals to make preparations.

Wei Daben and Sun Chuanting stayed with Cao Yue to continue discussing matters.

"Sun Dushi, Cao Zongbing, and Jiannu have deployed a lot of troops in the direction of the south gate. Although there are still our soldiers and horses outside the south gate, our passage out of the city is basically blocked. If the army wants to enter and exit the city, there is still a chance. , but it is very difficult to transport a large amount of supplies," Datong prefect Wei Daben felt a little exhausted due to the busyness of the past few days, but the most uncomfortable thing for him was that he still had no way to transport strategic supplies into the city.

In Datong City, the most urgent need now is saltpeter, the raw material for making gunpowder. The saltpeter in Datong City has been used up, and it needs to be extracted and transported from the nearby saltpeter mines. But now the four directions of Datong, except for the south gate direction, have not yet been built. Except for the complete blocking of Nu, the other directions have been surrounded by Jian Nu.In the direction of the south gate, Jiannu also sent tens of thousands of horses to set up an ambush. If they wanted to transport supplies into the city, they would definitely be attacked by Jiannu.

The several teams sent by Wei Daben to transport supplies were all attacked by Jiannu and suffered heavy losses.

In other words, from now on, as long as Jiannu is still in the city of Datong, it is almost impossible to transport a large amount of supplies into the city.

Without saltpeter, gunpowder cannot be produced.Without gunpowder, the Datong Defense War would not be easy to fight, and the Datong Army would pay a high price for casualties.This made Wei Daben blame himself. He felt that he was incompetent and could not make more contributions to the defense of Datong.

"Your Majesty Wei, you don't have to blame yourself," Cao Yue smiled at Daben Wei, "It is already a miracle that the Datong Army recreated the slaves without many casualties. Although the combat power of our Datong Army mainly depends on gunpowder, Without gunpowder, we are still an elite army, so we don’t have to be afraid of Jiannu. Next, we will continue to find ways to transport saltpeter into the city, and at the same time make various other preparations. Since Jiannu has decided to gather heavy troops to attack Datong, then Let them learn how powerful the Datong army is. At most, our Datong army will live and die with Datong, and if the last person is wiped out, there must be only a group of remnant soldiers and defeated generals left at that time."

"Lord Wei, we have to trust General Cao. He will be able to command the Datong army to defeat Jiannu and keep Datong!" The Jiang Brothers have already agreed to rescue Datong, and the soldiers and horses they lead have good combat effectiveness, at least Dorgon dare not underestimate them. The next days should be more difficult for Jiannu, not us!"

"Sun Dushi's words are reasonable," Cao Yue immediately agreed with Sun Chuanting's words, "Now the situation of Jiannu is many times more difficult than ours. They have paid tens of thousands of people, but they have not achieved any results. Dorgon must be furious There, Jiannu made many expeditions to the south, but never before have there been so many casualties but no results."

Seeing that Sun Chuanting and Cao Yue were full of confidence, Wei Daben felt better, and the three of them continued to discuss the next battle arrangements.

Zhou Yuji, Jiang Rang, and Jiang Xiang were willing to send troops to help stop the bandits, and Cao Yue was less worried. Cao Yue appreciated Jiang Xuan's ability to return after persuading his two brothers. It seems that the impact of some events can change some people. changed history.

In this battle to defend Datong, Cao Yue is confident that he will not lose so badly, at most, he will lose both sides.From the point of view of Ming Dynasty, even if he fights with Jiannu and loses to both sides, and the loss he pays is twice that of Jiannu, it is still a huge victory.

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Early the next morning, Jiannu began to attack the city.

Dorgon still used the Han army, the Korean army, and the Mongols as cannon fodder, and the Han army's Eight Banners and the Korean army attacked first.

The main attack on the direction of the north gate was changed to the Zhenghong Banner of the Han army, which was respectful to King Kong Youde.The Han army of Shang Kexi and Geng Zhongming has been basically disabled, and there are not many troops left, because both Shang Kexi and Geng Zhongming are dead, and their troops can no longer be used as the main attack.

Dorgon ordered the remnants of Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi, who were incorporated by Kong Youde, to follow Kong Youde and attack.

Kong Youde knew that as the vanguard of today's siege, his troops must have paid a very heavy price, and even following in the footsteps of Geng Zhongming and Monk Kexi, almost all of them might die under the guns of the Ming army.But he had no other choice but to bite the bullet and accept the order.

Dorgon will also order Kong Youde to attack intensively in batches with thousands of troops per wave, in order to consume the ammunition of the Ming army as much as possible.

Kong Youde also faithfully carried out Dorgon's order, sending only 2000 troops in the first wave of attacks.

In the morning light, two thousand Han troops were carrying red flags and carrying ladders, and quickly attacked in the direction of the North Gate of Datong.

In the formation of slaves, the horns of the charge were whistling, and the drums of war were beating one after another.The Ming army on the top of the city didn't make any big disturbances, and it seemed to be quiet.

When he was about to reach the range of the Ming army's guns on the top of the city, the charging Jiannu dispersed their formation and accelerated their speed, ready to meet the Ming army's guns.But it is very strange that the artillery of the Ming army did not shoot, and they were not fired by the muskets after they rushed into the range of the muskets of the Ming army.

(End of this chapter)