stubborn thief

The twelfth day of the eighth month of the ninth year of Chongzhen's reign, the day of White Dew.

The sand willows along the Yuxi River withered, white light spread across the sand dunes on the horizon, and above the iron-gray sky, a flock of migrating geese was startled away by circling vultures.

The morning mist that had enveloped the besieged camp was dispelled by the sunlight, and a new round of siege warfare was about to begin.

The war drums thundered, and the siege weapons moved slowly across the Gobi Desert with heavy creaking. On the east city wall, the defenders turned the general's cannon on the barbican around, and amidst the booming cannon fire, they continued to blast hundreds of projectiles at the collapsed wall of Haichao Temple.

The hip roof of the Zhenwu Gate tower has been destroyed by artillery fire.

Wang Shiqin, the garrison commander of the East City, stood on the ruins and peered through the holes blasted by cannonballs at Haichao Temple in the southeast corner. All he could see was the brown moat, which had been buried by wood, stones, and sand after the city moat had been drained, and was now soaked in blood and corpses.

The Marshal's army has been capturing Haichao Temple in the city moat for nearly half a month.

Over the past two weeks, the offensives on the ground and on the city walls have gradually weakened, but the battles in the tunnels beneath the ground, where every inch of land is contested, have become increasingly fierce.

The senior officers of both armies were far too experienced in combat and military knowledge, with more than thirty senior generals on each side capable of serving as brigadier generals, deputy commanders-in-chief, or even commanders-in-chief.

Beneath the southeastern city wall of Yulin, seven tunnels connecting the inside and outside of the city were dug, turning the area beneath the wall into an anthill. Not only were the attacking troops digging, but the defending troops also buried more than a dozen earthen urns at various locations inside the city wall and deployed soldiers to listen in day and night.

Upon hearing the noise, the soldiers and civilians began digging.

They even pushed the ball-firing cannons into the tunnels, and once the enemy had dug through, they would fire two shots.

Later, the attacking army realized that the tunnels were difficult to breach, so they changed their plan and expanded the tunnels, supporting them with wooden pillars. Once the tunnels were large enough, they would use gunpowder or arson to burn down the wooden pillars and trap the city.

The defenders immediately changed their plans, first digging tunnels to engage in close combat, and then simply diverting water from the city's pools to flood the tunnels, not only drowning the hundred-man squad of attacking troops working underground, but also destroying the coffins and gunpowder they had prepared.

But all of this was ultimately just a hopeless resistance.

Zhou Qing and Hui Dengxiang, who were outside the city, suffered losses and, in a fit of rage, dug up the moat they had filled in and diverted water from the Yuyang River from the Sanguan Temple, which was on higher ground. This not only flooded all seven tunnels but also caused the southeast pool in the city to overflow.

Wang Shiqin knew that the foundation of the city at the southeast corner had been soaked and the city was about to collapse.

Yesterday, Wang Shiqin's younger brother, Wang Shilu, led his retainers to descend the city walls at night in an attempt to launch a night raid on Haichao Temple and recapture this crucial strategic location during the siege.

Wang Shiqin knew that such an attack was useless and had no chance of achieving anything.

But he did not stop him.

If there is no Haichao Temple, there is still Jingang Temple; if there is no Jingang Temple, there are still rows of residential buildings outside the city.

Even without those buildings, tens of thousands of besieging troops could still build a fortress inside the sheep and horse walls outside the city under the cover of gunfire.

It's no use, nothing we do will make a difference.

From the moment Liu Chengzong arrived outside the city, the outcome of this battle was already clear.

Forty thousand troops were deployed to attack the city from the east, while nearly twenty thousand troops surrounded the city from the west. What's worse, Liu Chengzong's elite forces did not come down to the city at all. Instead, they opened a large-scale trading market on the other side of Hongshixia in the northwest.

The Wang family generals of Yulin, starting with their father Wang Wei, who held the title of general for nine years and served as a garrison commander for fifty years, and his brothers and sons who served as garrison commanders in nine border regions, had never seen a market town of this scale.

This was undoubtedly a sign of disrespect; Liu Chengzong was using his second-line troops to appease them.

This made every idle general in Yulin City feel ashamed.

But there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Because Liu Chengzong's second-line troops were actually the Ming army!
They had the same equipment and firepower as them, and even Xu Yong's Changping soldiers and Wang Yuncheng's Liaodong soldiers had slightly higher training levels and physical qualities than the Yulin garrison and old guards under their command.

how to spell?
Wang Shilu didn't even get into Haichao Temple. Before he could even reach the outer perimeter along the sheep and horse wall, some soldiers stepped on steel wheel mines. Then, several large cannons that were prepared three or four hundred paces outside the city started to fire blindly.

The cannons on the city walls followed up with a counterattack, turning the night attack into a nighttime artillery battle. The defenders had no time to provide support for Wang Shilu, and their ammunition reserves were running out. Once the cannons moved to a new position outside the city, they ceased their attack.

The night raid failed to even make a splash; of the more than two hundred men, only sixteen escaped back to the city walls, and Wang Shilu was not among them—a crushing defeat.

Wang Shiqin didn't feel much sadness at all.

Because at the very beginning of the siege, his other younger brother, Wang Shiguo, was killed by rebel artillery fire in the southeast corner of Yulin City.

He also had two nephews who died in the siege.

One was unlucky enough to be fatally injured by a brick shattered by a cannonball; the other died a few days earlier in close-quarters combat during a night raid by Zhou Qing's rebel army to seize the city.

Within a month, Wang Shiqin had lost the ability to grieve.

The only saving grace was that he had a younger brother, Wang Pu, who was not in Shaanxi, so the entire clan wouldn't have to be buried alive with the people of Yulin.

The last wisp of morning mist dissipated over the sand willow field.

With a deafening roar, smoke and dust billowed from the southeastern city wall of Yulin, whose foundation had been submerged in river water for many days.

As the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, a gap three zhang wide appeared in the city wall.

Both armies, both inside and outside the city, were shocked by the sudden turn of events. They whispered among themselves and people were running around in a chaotic frenzy.

In the very center of the besieged camp, Liu Fangming was shaving in his tent. Before he could even put on his armor, he grabbed his small razor, put on plain clothes, and rushed out of the tent, shouting loudly to order the soldiers to beat the drums.

With drums and music booming from all the camps, tens of thousands of soldiers pushed ladders, drove siege towers, arranged wooden cannons, and carried long ladders to form a large formation to launch an attack on the east city wall.

In an instant, shouts of battle filled the air, both on and below the city walls.

Even Liu Chengzong on Zhenbeitai was alarmed. He stepped out of his office and looked towards the southeast corner of Yulin City amidst the smoke and dust, laughing, "Generals Zhou and Hui, you two are quite capable!"

He knew all along that the city was going to collapse.

Outside the city, the people in charge of earthwork were the miners from Hengshan under Zhou Qing and Hui Dengxiang. They were very familiar with digging tunnels and using fire to open up mountains.

The method they used was very archaic, almost like a tunnel siege that hadn't progressed in over a thousand years. They dug tunnels under the rammed earth embankment-style city walls, supported them with wooden pillars and planks, and gradually expanded the tunnels until they had hollowed out a layer in a space that stretched for several meters.

The original intention was to use fire as the primary method of detonation, rather than gunpowder.

It was arson, plus gunpowder from a few small coffins, that blew up several key supporting pillars, causing the remaining supporting pillars to collapse, which in turn led to the collapse of that section of the city wall.

However, the Ming army inside the city flooded the city, thwarting Zhou Qing's fire attack. So, they switched to water attack from outside the city, diverting river water into the city's foundation.

Anyway, the caves under the city had already been dug, and with enough river water poured in, it was only a matter of time before the rammed earth layer was soaked and rotted.

Liu Shizi praised the earthwork skills of Zhou Qing and Hui Dengxiang.

But behind him, Zhang Xianzhong looked completely unconvinced: "My God, we've been waiting so long our hair has turned white, and the city has finally collapsed." In Zhang Xianzhong's view, the fact that only a corner of the city had been breached after such a long siege was due to the rich experience and resourcefulness of the many generals within the city.

On the other hand, it was also clear that the surrendered generals had poor siege skills, and Zhou Qing, Hui Dengxiang and others were poorly equipped and had no intention of fighting to the death.

If it were any of the garrison brigades from the First Brigade, the Second Brigade, or the Marshal's Army, based on their previous experience fighting in Guanzhong, they would have taken the lead in three to five days at most.

Li Zicheng's view is even more interesting.

On the surface, Huangwa Ge agreed with Zhang Xianzhong's views, but deep down, he was more puzzled by Liu Chengzong's actions.

Initially, he thought Liu Chengzong's purpose in this battle was to eliminate dissidents within the army.

But since he went north to seek refuge, the siege has lasted for almost half a month, yet the troops in the east of the city do not seem to be forced into battle.

At most, it was Sun Long from Liaoyang, who led a battalion of fake Tartars, who complained to the central army every day, seemingly urging Liu Fangming and others to hurry up.

Liu Chengzong listened to the situation and never urged the battle. He simply watched as Liu Fangming, Zhou Qing, and others used all their methods to attack and defend against the generals in the city, remaining calm and unhurried.

As a result, the generals leading troops at the front did not fight with their lives on the line. Each of them held a large army and simply waited for the flood to collapse the city walls.

Ultimately, people were reluctant to sacrifice the lives of their soldiers and refused to fight to the death.

If this continues, won't these people just become powerful and influential?

However, Li Zicheng's biggest grievance was not that others held military power, but why, when he arrived at the Marshal's Mansion, Liu Chengzong was relieved of his military command?

Li Zicheng was really annoyed by Zhang Xianzhong's arrogance, and after half a month, he didn't even bother to learn from Zhang.

Otherwise, Zhang Xianzhong would certainly have been able to empathize with his doubts—that's how much the Grand Marshal valued him!
Having a large army and wielding considerable power could be a major problem in the Ming Dynasty.

However, this problem did not exist in the Marshal's Office under Liu Chengzong's leadership.

They each commanded their own armies and wielded considerable power.

Not to mention Liu Chengzong's loyal generals, who were all appointed through nepotism and selected from among his own relatives.

Even among the generals and officers of the collateral branches, which peasant army wasn't a leader? Which surrendered general didn't have surrendered troops under his command? Not to mention the tribal chiefs and feudal lords, who weren't nobles who controlled their people?

The entire Marshal's Office, including all the generals, was a ruling entity that had gained recognition and support from the bottom up in the chaotic Shaanxi region.

If they were released, wise rulers would be everywhere.

If Liu Shizi is afraid of this, then he shouldn't be living like this.

The reason for not urging a battle was simply to see the abilities of Liu Fangming, Ma Xiantu, Zhou Qing, and others.

Meanwhile, his army was stationed in Yulin, and apart from the First Brigade that accompanied him on his expedition to Lingdong, no one was idle.

The First Brigade's meritorious service in guarding the border town on the other side of Hongshixia, ensuring the smooth flow of trade between the three Khans of the northern desert and the military and civilians within the border, was a cause for celebration.

Meanwhile, Ren Quan'er's Second Brigade had been training its troops, destroying the battlements on the west wall of Yulin. The soldiers' artillery skills had improved considerably, and their ability to suppress the city walls with combined guns and cannons had also greatly increased.

During this period, Liu Chengzong himself summoned Chen Qihuang, the magistrate of Jingbian County, to discuss the future of Yulin Town.

With the victory in the expedition against Daiqing, the importance of the Southern Mongolian Governorate has risen further. Large forces are advancing towards the Shanxi border and the Xingan Mountains. The Yulin military town no longer has a basis for existence.

On the other hand, although the successful victory in the Lingdong Campaign gave the Marshal's Office and Dai Qing a psychological advantage in the subsequent battles along the Xinganling Mountains, Liu Chengzong was not blinded by the victory.

Lingdong remains a place beyond his reach.

This further requires that Yansui Town, which focuses solely on military force, undergo a transformation into a prefecture-level city after changing its flag and banner.

Yulin Prefecture.

Liu Chengzong had considered eliminating the military functions of Yansui Town outright, but after much deliberation, he decided to allow the newly established Yulin Prefecture to retain some of its garrison functions.

This place is, after all, the northern gateway to Shaanxi. During the long Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties, it was known as Yuxi Pass and Yulin Pass as an important military town. Even now, even though the garrison has been abolished, it still has great military value.

Although Liu Shizi couldn't think of any decent enemy that could invade Shaanxi from this side.

Maybe if he withdraws the border defenses here, then it will happen?
The southern part of the steppe is currently extremely vulnerable. Troops from Ordos, Guihua City, Jining and other places are moving eastward to the Jinlianchuan, Shangdu and Songmofu areas. It is still very necessary for Yulin Prefecture to maintain its deterrent effect on the steppe for the short term.

The candidate for prefect was Chen Qiyu's younger brother, Chen Qihuang.

News from the battlefield was relayed back by the lookouts of the cavalry. When it reached the foot of Zhenbeitai, it was collected by the central cavalry unit. Qianzong Ma Xiang climbed the city wall and reported: "General, urgent report from the front: the southeast corner of the city has collapsed. Zhou Qing's left commissar... Zhang Ziyi, the commander of the camp, has led his troops to the first breach and is attacking the enemy through the gap."

Upon hearing the seemingly unrelated terms "left clerk of the camp" and "manager of the plates" put together, Liu Shizi couldn't help but smile.

This demonstrates that the Marshal's Army did not thoroughly incorporate the troops of Zhou Qing and Hui Dengxiang. The corresponding commander of the division was a battalion commander.

However, since Liu Chengzong only granted two officers the rank of Assistant General, and the military office had not yet granted them the military ranks of the officers under his command, a situation arose where the ranks of officers and civilian officers were mixed together.

"Once this battle is over, they will have decent official positions—Zhao Jifang and Zuo Maodi, record."

Liu Chengzong casually uttered a sentence, then became serious and called out the names of Zhao Jifang and Zuo Maodi.

Zhao Jifang, who was following closely behind, was naturally prepared and immediately picked up his pen to take notes. Zuo Maodi, who had a bitter expression, was different. He was already distracted by the fall of the city, and when his name was suddenly called, he was at a loss for what to do. It took him a moment to put away his paper and pen.

He was summoned by Liu Chengzong specifically to be used after the war to promote to the Ming Dynasty the heroic deeds of the Yulin generals who swore to die for their country.

Otherwise, Zuo Maodi, who had not joined the Marshal's Mansion, would not be here.

With that loud bang and the dust billowing into the sky, Zuo Maodi knew that Shaanxi's last border town loyal to the Ming Dynasty was ultimately unable to withstand Liu Chengzong's offensive.

"In the month of Bingzi (1656), Chengzong besieged Yulin. Lieutenant General Hun Tianxing Hui Dengxiang launched a siege from a tunnel, but the defending troops flooded the tunnel and destroyed it, failing to capture the city. On the day of Bailu (1656), Lieutenant General Man Tianxing Zhou Qing breached several zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) of the east wall of Yulin. Lieutenant Generals Liu Fangming and Xu Yong, along with Guerrilla General Ma Xiantu, scaled the city wall and fought fiercely. The east gate opened, and Lieutenant General Zuo Liangyu led his elite cavalry into the city to fight in the streets..."

Zuo Maodi, who had been silently taking notes, suddenly looked up upon hearing this: "Grand Marshal, Generals Liu and Xu have not yet stormed the city, the city walls have not been breached, and street fighting is even more... What's going on?"

Liu Shizi thought to himself, "What's all the fuss about? If I wasn't going to fight like this, why would I call you over here?"

Could it be that they really only want to establish military merits for those famous generals in the city?

Liu Chengzong ignored Zuo Maodi's question, but turned his gaze to Zuo Liangyu, who was standing to the side, and then looked at the messenger with the flag on his back: "Go and give General Sun the order to urge him to fight."

Having said that, he strolled to the battlements of Zhenbeitai, gazing southeast of Yulin where the corner tower had been burned. After a moment, he turned around and met Zuo Maodi's gaze: "Brother Zuo, please be patient, it will be soon." (End of Chapter)