1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 776 Breaking Guangnan ([-])
On March 1661, 3, in the evening, Hue.

Taking advantage of the evening sun, Qi Army Commander and Lieutenant Colonel Linghui (Lieutenant Colonel) Yue Zhongwu carefully observed the southern city of Hue with a telescope, trying to find a flaw so that the army could quickly conquer the city.

Hue City was built on a long and narrow plain on the banks of the Xiangjiang River, close to Yuping Mountain.The entire city of Hue is in the shape of a square, with a circumference of about several kilometers, surrounded by a moat, and the width of the moat is more than 10 meters.Most of the city wall is made of bricks, about 6 meters high, and looks very thick.There are 3 gates in this section of the southern city wall, and each gate (including the gate tower) is about 12-14 meters high.

There are cannons arranged on the city wall, and after a short count, there are no fewer than five. Most of the Guangnan soldiers on the city wall are holding spears and short knives, and many of them are holding bows and arrows, fully on guard.

I heard that in recent years, the Guangnan Army has purchased a lot of muskets, which should be used to equip their so-called Imperial Forest Army - Shenwuwei.However, on the city wall, there were not many Guangnan soldiers with muskets, presumably they were defending their imperial city.

"Sir, there is a water gate on the right side of Nancheng." A tactical staff officer next to him reminded in a low voice.

"Huh?" Yue Zhongwu heard the words and looked towards the right side of Nancheng with his binoculars.

Sure enough, a water gate was built there, about 8 meters high and 4 meters wide. There was an iron fence at the gate, and there was an iron-clad gate inside.This water gate should be equipped for small transport ships coming from the direction of the lagoon to transport daily necessities to the capital.

"Sir, we rushed to the city of Hue almost as quickly as possible. I think the Annan people may have only strengthened the defense of the city wall and the land gate in haste, and perhaps it was too late to completely seal the water gate." The tactician The staff officer's eyes were shining brightly, "If we drive a small boat filled with explosives, drive it near the water gate, and detonate it, the city gate will definitely be blown up. In this way, we will lead our troops into the city quickly and occupy a section of the city wall." As long as you stick to it until dawn the next day, when the follow-up troops arrive, the city of Hue will be broken!"

"Qi Ensheng, if you can break through Hue this time, you will be the first. After the battle, your rank can be raised by one rank!" Yue Zhongwu patted the tactical staff on the shoulder with a smile, "You arrange this matter immediately ... Let's destroy Hue City tonight!"

"Yes, sir!" Qi Ensheng saluted excitedly, and then ran towards the camp.

Two days ago, more than 100 troops from the Qi Army, together with the Ming Army from the Gurong Department in Qiongzhou, the Firearms Battalion of Hexian Township, and the Firearms Battalion of Champa City, totaled more than 30 people, and took more than [-] small and medium-sized galleys and flat-bottomed transport ships. Under the cover of more than ten naval ships, fishing boats quietly sailed along the narrow waterway into the lagoon located more than [-] kilometers southeast of Hue.

The fleet quickly crossed the lagoon, reached a small river in the north, and then went up the river along the river. It took only one and a half days to rush to Perfume City.Annan fishermen, merchant ships, and pedestrians encountered along the way were all captured and killed.

In order to achieve the suddenness of the attack, the army commander Yue Zhongwu left three squadrons of armed rural soldiers when passing through Perfume City, and cooperated with the two battalions of the Self-Rescue Army, totaling more than [-] people, to capture the city.The rest of the large army did not stop, and went straight to Hue.

Whenever they encountered a small group of Guangnan garrison troops on the way, the Qi army did not delay at all, or defeated them with powerful firepower, or bypassed them directly, and advanced quickly in the mode of forced march.

When the attack reached the city of Hue, it was not yet dark, and the Qi army quickly captured a Guangnan barracks outside the south city of Hue by means of an assault with the whole army. More than a thousand enemy soldiers were killed, wounded and captured, and the rest were dispersed. Either fled to the four fields, or fled into the city of Hue.

The Guangnan army obviously did not expect the attack speed of the Qi army to be so fast. Shenshi (15:17 to 17:19 pm) received an urgent report from Perfume City, and at Youshi ([-]:[-] to [-]:[-] pm), the Qi army immediately It has been killed to the city of Hue, less than an hour away from the envoy who came to report.

Could it be that our garrison along the way in Guangnan is just a display without any resistance?
The general of the Guangnan Army at the head of the city of Hue looked at the less than [-] Qi army below the city, and couldn't help but look at each other. The more than [-] officers and soldiers stationed in the camp outside the city immediately collapsed under the enemy's face-to-face attack. Half of them were wiped out, and the rest Those who came down also fled all over the mountains and plains, everywhere.

According to the officers who fled into the city, the opponent did not carry out the usual artillery bombardment at all, but just fired a round of gun volleys, and then launched an assault with the whole army with bayonets in hand.Faced with the Qi army's bayonet attack, the Fuwei army collapsed immediately, and the people were scattered and fled in all directions, failing to form an organization.

"All ministries need to be more vigilant, guard the city, do not give orders, and no one is allowed to go out of the city to fight the enemy waves!... Otherwise, don't blame the commander for his ruthless military law!" Ruan Fuyou, the general of the Imperial Forest Guard in front of the palace, looked at Qi in the twilight. Army temporary camp, ordered in a deep voice.

Although there are more than 4000 defenders in the city, plus more than 20 civilians recruited temporarily, the number far exceeds that of the Qi army outside the city, and the elite four guards of Shenwu are equipped with a lot of firecrackers.But Ruan Fuyou still didn't dare to go out of the city to fight the Qi army. More than [-] years ago, our Guangnan army sent troops to attack the Xinsheng Island territory of Qi State twice, but the entire army was wiped out.In the next few years, the Qi army raided the coast every year. The guards of the various provinces in Guangnan had little power to fight back, and they would collapse at the slightest touch.

To be honest, in the face of the Qi army with sharp firearms, the town army in Guangnan and the guards of various places, and even the powerful northern frontier army, there is a mentality of fearing the enemy.You must know that my Guangnan army made several northern expeditions to the Zheng family, but the farthest they fought was the line of Ha Tinh, and they were soon pushed back by the Zheng family.They believed that the overall combat power of Zheng's army was slightly stronger than theirs, but it was only limited by the narrowness of the mountains and rivers, and the military power could not be deployed, so they frequently engaged in tug-of-war with the Guangnan Army.

However, when the Qi army faced the northern Zheng's army, it showed a one-sided crushing trend. They entered from the mouth of the Red River a few years ago, went up to Shenglong City, and conquered it in one fell swoop. During the period, they retreated Thousands of people came to help Zheng's army, and Zheng was forced to sign the alliance under the city, which gave Qi many preferential trade terms, opened up part of the domestic market, and paid a large sum of money.

As the general of the imperial guards in front of the Guangnan Palace, Ruan Fuyou faintly felt that whether it was the Zheng family in the north or the Guangnan Kingdom in the south, when facing the Qi army, if they had an absolute superiority of countless times, they would be defeated by the opponent. Defeat in a devastating manner.The armies of the two sides seem to be completely different in terms of organization, training, and even equipment and combat concepts.

Faced with these existing problems, he didn't know if he could change them by equipping the same weapon.For more than ten years, Guangnan State purchased many artillery and firearms through Western barbarians, and also hired some barbarians to guide and train firearms drills.But Ruan Fuyou still felt that there was a certain gap between the Guangnan Army and the Qi Army, and they might lose to the other side again in battle.

Therefore, when Guangnan King Nguyen Phuc was about to launch a surprise attack on Champa and Qi, he strongly opposed it.The Qi army not only has absolutely crushing maritime strength, they also have a very good land army.Three years ago, the Qi State had an armed conflict with the general of the Satsuma feudal town in Japan. Without mobilizing the armed forces from Annan's territories, they easily defeated the opponent in less than three months and captured the territory of the Japanese feudal town, forcing The other party ceded land and paid compensation.

Not to mention, the Qi army often took turns dispatching troops in Daming territory to participate in the war against the northern Tartars. It is said that they have not lost a single defeat for more than ten years, and have severely injured the Tartars several times.

It is best not to provoke such a country with strong combat power easily.Otherwise, you will be hit head-on by the opponent, and the loss will be immeasurable.

However, Ruan Phuc, the king of Guangnan, insisted on going to war, trying to occupy Huaying, Nanpan, Champa, and the territories of Qi by taking advantage of the strength and geographical advantage of Guangnan, and then make peace with Qi. Chinese people negotiate.

Fortunately, several territories of Qi State failed to occupy all of them. Instead, the opponent came over from the rear and directly killed Hue City.However, as the royal family of the Nguyen family, they and Guangnan are both prosperous and equally prosperous.Although he slandered the king for his rash actions, Ruan Fuyou still had to be loyal to his duty and was ordered to guard the city.

He hoped that with Hue City's solid defenses and strong artillery, he could hold out until the arrival of reinforcements from all walks of life.As long as the Qi army is forced to retreat, we still have to try our best to persuade the king to end the war and seek peace with Qi on the premise of not excessively damaging the interests of Guangnan.

"boom!……"

In the middle of the night, in a house near the city gate, Ruan Fuyou was half asleep when he was suddenly awakened by the shaking of the mountains and the sound of violent explosions.

"...What's the situation!" Ruan Fuyou asked with a puzzled expression, barefoot and wearing only a small coat.

"Marshal..." A guard who ran over in a panic showed a horrified expression, "The Qi army blasted open the water gate of Nancheng with explosives!... The Qi army is attacking!"

"Ah..." Ruan Fuyou was stunned immediately, "The water gate...hasn't it been sealed with bricks during the day?"

"..."

"Idiot!" Ruan Fuyou kicked the guard in front of him angrily, and then hurriedly walked out of the courtyard.

"Marshal! Marshal..." Several guards hurriedly followed behind, "Marshal, please wear armor!"

"...Order the four elephant taming guards to drive the elephant soldiers to attack the water gate immediately!"

"Order the six guards in front of the palace to quickly assemble with Yu Nancheng, and drive the Qi army that invaded the city out of the city!"

"Send people to the palace and order the four guards to protect the king!"

"..."
-
When the first light of dawn appeared in the sky in the early morning, the officers and soldiers of the Qi army who had been nervous all night finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Damn it, when they entered the city last night, the Guangnan army fought back frantically several times, trying to drive the Qi army out of Hue City by relying on the offensive of the sea of ​​people and dozens of war elephants.However, more than [-] Qi troops surrounded a fire barrel formation tightly, using city walls and houses as cover, relying on spears, muskets, and hand-throwing bombs to fight in turn, and insisted on firmly guarding a section of the city wall near Shuimen, and gave it to the generals. The Confederate Army suffered heavy casualties.

Because the Qi army's firearms were greatly affected at night, the Guangnan army attacked the front of the Qi army several times along the stairs and the city wall.Commander Yue Zhongwu had no choice but to organize the marines in the formation to launch counterattacks with bayonets, pushing the Guangnan Army back again and again.

By daybreak, the Guangnan defenders, who had suffered heavy casualties, were unable to attack again. Instead, the Qi army took advantage of the situation and captured a large section of the city wall.In the end, the Guangnan army had to temporarily build several barricades near the water gate to prevent the Qi army from rushing into the city.

Just when Qi Jun took out dry food and canned food and was about to eat breakfast, he suddenly heard a burst of warm cheers from the Guangnan Army from the barricade.All the officers and soldiers couldn't help looking towards the city, only to see a group of Guangnan soldiers approaching in a continuous stream, with banners waving, and countless guards of honor. Hu.

"Heh..." Yue Zhongwu, the commander of the Qi army, couldn't help laughing, "Look at the formation, I'm afraid it's their Guangnan king who is driving and supervising the formation. How courageous!"

"It's a pity, our artillery is still outside the city, and we haven't got it to the top of the city for a while." An officer smacked his mouth and said regretfully: "Otherwise, we can bombard them on the king's chariot. A few rounds will definitely kill him!"

"If you don't have artillery, you can destroy them!" Yue Zhongwu said lightly: "Order the Champa Firearms Battalion and Hexian Town Firearms Battalion to go out on both sides of the barricades. The No. [-] and No. [-] Squadrons, the No. [-] and No. [-] Squadrons of Xinxin Island Township, the Zuo Battalion and Right Battalion of Qiongzhou Township, the Bingzi Battalion and Ding Battalion of the Self-Rescue Army lined up in the city, and were not allowed to retreat without orders; The officers and soldiers of the Sixth Battalion, the Third Squadron and the Fourth Squadron of the Shunde Township Soldiers, lined up at the head of the city, guarding both sides of the city wall for surprise attacks by the Guangnan Army!"

On the street hundreds of meters away from the water gate of Nancheng, Guangnan King Ruan Fuyan rode on a white war horse with a stern face, staring at a section of the city wall occupied by the Qi army in front of him, full of fierce fighting intent in his heart.

Ruan Fuyou, the commander-in-chief of the defenders in the city and the general of the Imperial Forest Guard in front of the palace, has been dismissed by him and thrown into a prison for later trial.

A bunch of idiots, incompetent people!It even allowed the Qi army to break through the city wall and enter the city that night.If it wasn't for the weak strength of the Qi army and the fact that it was already dark, they didn't dare to break into the depths of the city. Otherwise, our Guangnan king and ministers would all be prisoners.

What is even more annoying is that thousands of troops counterattacked in an all-round way. Not only did they fail to drive the Qi army out of the city, but they also took advantage of the situation to expand the control area of ​​the city wall under the continuous counterattack of the opponent, and even broke into a block near the city gate.If you get follow-up reinforcements, you can rush into the city at any time.

Ruan Fubin rejected the suggestion of the ministers to persuade him to leave Hue and avoid the outside of the city. In the early morning of this morning, he gathered the Shenwu Four Guards in the imperial city and personally led the troops to the vicinity of the water gate, preparing to occupy the water gate with the momentum of thunder. The nearby Qi army was wiped out in one fell swoop.

The elite Shenwu Four Guards Army, with more than [-] officers and soldiers, is composed of honored children and elite officers and soldiers from various places. They wear rattan armor and are equipped with [-] old-fashioned matchlock guns, [-] flintlock muskets, and [-] bird guns. , and the rest are equipped with spears and short knives. They have been trained by several Western barbarian instructors for a year, and they are the most important firearms troops in Guangnan Kingdom.

"Attack!" When Ruan Wentong, the commander of the Shenwu Army, half-kneeled on the ground and begged for orders loudly, Ruan Fubin ordered in a deep voice.

"attack!"

Following Ruan Van Thong's order, the soldiers of the Shenwu Army lined up in neat rows with muskets, and slowly attacked the Qi army's position. More than [-] spearmen lined up on both sides, protecting the two wings of the musket formation. The six guards, Fuwei, and Minzhuang troops in front of the palace also swarmed forward from the rear and sides, holding swords and spears.

(End of this chapter)