1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3902

"Reporting to the general, the second batch of landing troops has arrived at the riverbank and is unloading combat supplies ashore."

"The fleet's ammunition inventory is complete, and it is expected that eight more rounds of artillery salvos can be completed."

"Hot Air Balloon No. 2 is ready for liftoff. Please give further instructions, General!"

"General Ha called to report that the shelling intensity in the direction of Deshengmen can only be maintained for another half hour at most, after which the offensive will no longer be able to be sustained."

"The shelling continues from Yonghe Gate in the east and Jinxian Gate in the south of the city. So far, the moat has not been breached. It is said that the defenses of Jinxian Gate are severely damaged and the defending troops are showing signs of collapse."

Real-time battle reports were transmitted remotely via radio waves and continuously converged on the warship where Shi Chengwu was located, allowing him to grasp the changes in the battlefield situation and make corresponding deployments.

Ha Jianyi's offensive in the north of the city is about to slow down, which is a planned development. The attack on Deshengmen is merely a feint; the fleet's main firepower is concentrated on Zhangjiangmen, commanded by Shi Chengwu, and even ammunition distribution is arranged accordingly. Even if everything goes smoothly at Deshengmen, by this point the ships won't have many shells left.

This means that the offensive at Zhangjiang Gate must be accelerated; otherwise, once the attack at Desheng Gate stops, the city's defenders will naturally realize that the main attack is not in the north of the city and will strengthen their defenses at Zhangjiang Gate.

Although Shi Chengwu appeared calm and composed, his frequent wrist-raising checks betrayed his inner tension.

The tactic of blowing up city gates relies on catching the enemy off guard and striking successfully in one fell swoop. If the blow-up wasn't completed today, the defending troops would certainly inspect the damage to the city gates and walls after the ceasefire. Once they discovered the cannon holes drilled by the Haihan army beneath the city walls, it wouldn't be difficult to deduce their intentions, and approaching the city gates to carry out the blow-up operation next time wouldn't be as easy as it was today.

The longer the engineers spend at the foot of the city, the greater the chance of revealing their combat intentions. However, the demolition work cannot be done carelessly, otherwise it may affect the final result.

If the number and depth of the blast holes are insufficient, the amount of explosives required for blasting will be insufficient. Even if all these conditions are met, if the blast holes are drilled in the wrong position or direction, the blasting will still fail.

So no matter how tight the schedule was, the engineers could only follow the established plan, properly handle each blast hole, and then fill them with explosives and detonators one by one.

They knew that their actions would directly affect the outcome of the siege, so even though they knew that staying under the city walls for even a moment longer would increase the danger and that they might not be able to evacuate the battlefield, they still did their best to carry out the established construction plan.

Fortunately, the use of small rock drills greatly improved construction efficiency. In addition, the soil and rocks filled in the city gate were not as dense and solid as expected. The engineers were able to complete the construction work before the deadline and then quickly withdrew with their equipment.

The watchtowers on the city wall also noticed these small groups of enemy troops quickly retreating to the riverbank, but they did not realize the danger and instead breathed a sigh of relief.

They subconsciously believed that the Haihan Army realized it was difficult to assemble its siege forces in the narrow area outside the city, and in order to avoid greater casualties during the siege, it had no choice but to abandon further actions against Zhangjiangmen.

However, they failed to notice that the Haihan Army, retreating towards the riverbank, was carrying spools of thread and laying several inconspicuous thin lines along their retreat route—these were actually fuses, with the other end connected to detonators buried in the gun emplacements.

Some overly excited Ming soldiers even stood up and shouted insults at the retreating Haihan army outside the city, but they were met with a relentless barrage of fire. News of the slowing siege from the north and south quickly reached the military headquarters. Ding Baoguo was greatly relieved upon hearing this, believing that the Haihan army's feint attacks in those two directions had been successfully neutralized, and that the focus could now be shifted to the east and south.

Ding Baoguo then issued a series of orders to redeploy the city's garrison in order to alleviate the defensive pressure from the east and south.

Although the current situation is still a struggle, Ding Baoguo firmly believes that as long as the Haihan army outside the city runs out of ammunition and the battle enters the stage of close combat, the defenders will still have the opportunity to defeat the attacking enemy through hand-to-hand combat by virtue of the city's defenses and troop strength.

After Ding Baoguo finished deploying his troops, he was about to go out to inspect the city when he suddenly heard a muffled sound coming from the west of the city. Before he could figure out what was going on, the ground beneath his feet began to shake.

However, the vibration was not significant and did not last long; it stopped within the time it takes to breathe.

Ding Baoguo dared not be careless and immediately ordered his men to investigate the situation.

Before long, a subordinate stumbled in to report that an explosion had suddenly occurred at Zhangjiang Gate in the west of the city, and then the nearby city wall collapsed, revealing a gap that was seven or eight zhang wide.

Upon hearing this news, Ding Baoguo nearly fainted. The entire defensive line of Nanchang City relied on these sturdy city walls; if a breach occurred, it would truly be a catastrophe.

Ding Baoguo immediately realized that the Haihan Army's offensive in the west of the city might be related to this. At this time, the enemy must have also noticed the collapse of Zhangjiang Gate and would inevitably launch a new round of attacks. So he immediately issued an order for the troops that had just been transferred to the east and south of the city to rush back to Zhangjiang Gate for reinforcement.

Ding Baoguo's reaction was undeniably swift, and he did indeed anticipate the movements of the Haihan Army. However, his troop movements at this point were ultimately a passive response, inevitably lagging behind the Haihan Army's pace.

While the ruins of Zhangjiang Gate were still shrouded in smoke and dust, the Haihan Army on the riverbank had already launched a new offensive.

Although the dense smoke obscured the view and the effect of the explosion could not be confirmed for the time being, the opportunity was fleeting, and the Haihan Army would certainly not wait for the smoke to dissipate before launching an attack.

Hundreds of Haihan soldiers, who had already gathered near the riverbank, rushed toward Zhangjiang Gate, leaving behind rubble from the previous explosions along the way.

Although some houses outside Zhangjiang Gate and along the riverbank were not directly affected by the explosion, they still suffered considerable damage from the falling bricks and stones.

The advance troops quickly saw the state of Zhangjiang Gate after the explosion. The good news was that Zhangjiang Gate had been wiped out, and the entire shape of the city gate had disappeared, leaving a huge gap.

The bad news is that the ruins after the city gate collapsed are still enormous, forming a large mound of earth over ten feet high, interspersed with bricks, stones, and rubble, which is not easy to climb. The Haihan army must now climb over this mound to enter the city.

However, the Haihan Army had anticipated this situation when formulating its battle plan, so the vanguard also carried several gangplanks used on ships—tools originally intended for troop transport ships to land.

These planks were placed directly on the mounds of earth, forming a relatively flat path. Soldiers could quickly climb up the mounds along the planks and see the garrison troops from the city rushing to the breach.