national surname chiming

Chapter 378 The rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of every man

The Qing army on Duoduo's journey was treated the best when they first set off.

When Azig, who was marching westward, finally reached the city of Nanyang, he was able to cobble together more than 30 Hongyi cannons.As for Duoduo's journey, the previous battles against Fengyang and Yangzhou did not cause much loss. When they arrived at the city of Nanjing, they could still raise more than 40 Hongyi cannons!

In addition, because the fire is imminent, Dodo will naturally not hold back like Azig.Since it is time to rush, all the more than 40 Hongyi cannons will be pressed on, without any ambiguity at all.

The firepower density of the Qing army's siege this time was at least twice as fierce as Azig's firepower in Nanyang a while ago, and they only focused on a point in the northwest of Nanjing City and by the Qinhuai River.

There is also a reason why Duoduo finally chose to attack the northwest of Nanjing City with all his strength.First of all, the design of the inner city and outer gate of Nanjing City was originally to emphasize the southeast and neglect the northwest.

Facing Zijin Mountain in the southeast, there is also the cover of the outer gate, and the complex commanding height fortifications and camps of the Ming army relying on the mountain, which is very troublesome.In the northwest direction, there is a section with only one layer of city wall, where the inner and outer city are united.
Although the wall here is also the tallest and thickest, if you break through this layer, you can directly kill the inner city.

As a result, the whole family of the Qing army, young and old, had a total of 46 Hongyi cannons, including 4 of which were injured by the Ming army during the bombing of the city yesterday, pulled back for emergency repairs, and then re-entered the battlefield.

They all set up a formation outside the Nanjing city wall not far from the mouth of the Qinhuai River, aiming the muzzle of the black hole at the same point.

This relatively shallow and narrow moat of the Qinhuai River was also filled to a certain extent yesterday, and some places appeared to be potholed, but it was impossible to completely fill it up so quickly.

So today the Qing army handed over most of the captured peasants to a Ming army commander, and asked him to fill in a road that could go directly to the root of the city wall at any cost in one morning.

……

This Ming army surrendered general, named Li Chengdong, from Shaanxi, was originally Gao Jie's general—Gao Jie was the one who had been a thief with Li Zicheng, and later because he eloped with Li Zicheng's wife, the Xing family, he had no choice but to follow the court to suppress him. thief.In history, during the Nanming Hongguang regime, Gaojie was also one of the four towns in Jiangbei.

Now in this life, when Jiashen changed, because of the butterfly effect of Zhu Shuren sending Zhang Mingzhen to meet the Ming army in the north, Gao Jie withdrew south with the fleet to Huai'an and landed.It avoids the embarrassment in the original history that it is necessary to "play the banner of breaking the army all the way, so that the cities along the way dare not intercept it" before fleeing south.

Because of this reason, after Gao Jie went south, he was not as rebellious as in the original history.However, considering that his troops were relatively poor when traveling thousands of miles away, and he was born as a bandit, he liked to set up cards in private to extort military supplies from passing merchants, so Gao Jie still competed with his allies for the lucrative position of guarding Yangzhou——

Originally in history, Gao Jie had competed with Huang Degong, and there was even an assassination scene at the Hongmen Banquet for this, which was almost as violent as Li Ke used Zhu Wen.

Now Huang Degong has become Zhu Shuren's direct descendant, and he was transferred to Xinyang in advance, so he didn't come to compete with Gao Jie.Liu Liangzuo became a member of the hostile camp again, so Gao Jie successfully grabbed the fat vacancy guarding Yangzhou.

However, when Duoduo went south and stormed Yangzhou, because the troops of King Fu's puppet regime surrendered too quickly, Gao Jie's troops encountered a surprise attack by the Qing army when they were not well prepared. loss.

But at this juncture, some people under Gao Jie's command had different intentions, the most important of which was Li Chengdong——

Li Chengdong thought this way: before that, they were all Gao Jie's diehards, and they had too much grievances with Li Zicheng for many years, so they could only hang out with the Ming court.

However, when the Qing army called this time, they heard that Li Zicheng was dead.The main core generals of Gao Jie's department only have an old feud with Li Zicheng, and they have no blood feud with the Tartars!Just because you can't vote for Chuang, doesn't mean you can't vote for Tartar!
Under Gao Jie's defeat, people's hearts were already unstable, and Li Chengdong felt that they were betrayed by the friendly army. Gao Jie, who was not prepared, surrendered to the Tartars with some of the most stubborn bandit-born soldiers under Gao Jie's command.

Of course, not all the troops under Gao Jie’s command were from thieves, and some were from the former northern Bai Guangen’s troops. Those were all from the frontier army of the Ming Dynasty, and they had a relatively high degree of recognition with the court. Of course, these people would not follow Li Chengdong. .

In the end, roughly calculated, about [-] to [-] percent of Gao Jie's troops were defeated and voted for the Tartars, and most of them were taken over by Shi Kefa to cross the river to rest and continue to participate in the Nanjing Defense War.

(Note: Please don’t criticize this bluntly or forcefully. During wartime, it’s normal for defeated troops to surrender. It’s nothing more than a question of who surrendered.

Even if it is forced, I promise that Li Chengdong will be the last character in my book who forcibly rapes and traitors. He is just a representative and a benchmark of those who were defeated and defected to the enemy in the Battle of Lianghuai.Rather than emphasizing another character, it is more convenient to use the big traitors in history as benchmarks.

Finally, let me say a few words about Li Chengdong's traitorous crimes in history.He participated in Yangzhou Ten Days and led the Jiading Three Massacres.In history, Yan Yingyuan's uprising in Jiangyin was finally defeated by Li Chengdong, and the city was slaughtered by the Kunshan Uprising. He was basically the number one traitor who slaughtered the city.

Previously, Jin Shenghuan was subdued by the protagonist, but Jin Shenghuan actually slaughtered Nanchang once in history, but he was not as famous or typical as Li Chengdong, so don't think I am double-standard, I also want to mention Jin Shenghuan's bad deeds.In the end, Li Chengdong rebelled against the Qing for personal prosperity and wealth, but I think his sincerity in rebelling against the Qing is much worse than that of Wu Sangui,

Still the same sentence, because of the butterfly effect of the protagonist, some people who have been big traitors in history but may not have the chance to be big traitors in the book, I also want to emphasize it with a voiceover.In order to avoid a few newcomer readers who have not carefully read the history of this period of time and are misled by my book into thinking that some traitors in history are actually not traitors.Li Chengdong is the last one in this book, and there will be no such setting in the future. )
……

Li Chengdong was directly ordered to die by Duoduo, and he was naturally extremely depressed in his heart to undertake such a drudgery. It can even be said that his depression was no less than that of Wang Duo and Qian Qianyi a few days later——

If when Yangzhou fell, the obedient citizens of the imperial court with Gao Jie's remnant from then on would have been obedient and resigned to the treatment, maybe they would be able to stay in Nanjing at this moment and play the defensive side.

But it's useless to regret. After a great battle, there will always be people who swear to follow the old master, and there will always be people who are in chaos or have ambitions, or take a wrong step on a temporary basis and follow the thief.Now that the path has been chosen, the climb has to be done while kneeling.

When Li Chengdong made up his mind to swing his sword at the weaker, he cut off the pity in his heart.

Those former diehard members of Gaojie's old department who had been thieves for more than ten years and capricious many times under his command soon put on iron cotton armor and waved sharp knives to urge the people to fill the river quickly. These soldiers themselves had to carry Pick up a bag of soil and throw it into the Qinhuai River.

The Ming army at the head of the city was raining arrows and stones, mixed with dense muskets. From time to time, traitors under Li Chengdong's command were pierced through iron-coated cotton armor and fell to the ground screaming.Their corpses were kicked into the Qinhuai River by their merciless comrades-in-arms, and used as bricks to fill up this short section of the Qinhuai River.

In less than half an hour after the start of the war, hundreds of traitor soldiers were killed or injured. The numbers are really staggering. In contrast, the casualties of the innocent young men who were forced to fill the river were at least three or four times as many as the traitor soldiers.

The archers under the two white flags of the Qing army also carried their long shields, wooden boards, and door panels, and went forward to shoot at the Ming army across the Qinhuai River regardless.These Qing army archers also rarely put on iron-coated cotton armor, which is completely inconsistent with ordinary people's impression of "archers should be lightly armored units".

The arrows shot by both sides quickly turned the parapets and battlements of this section of the Nanjing City Wall into hedgehogs. The dense feathers at the tail of the arrows are like white reeds, making it difficult to see the wall clearly. original color.

The 46 Qing army red barbarian cannons, one after another, began to pour firepower at this section of the city wall.The Hongyi cannons on the walls of the Ming army also fired back without showing any weakness, but unfortunately the number was still too small compared to the cannons of the Qing army, and it was miserable to be crushed for a while——

The Qing army gathered all the artillery before dawn in advance, and the Ming army had to wait for the Qing army to start fighting before they could confirm the main direction of the Qing army's desperate attack, and then decided to dispatch reinforcements from other directions.

Considering the heavy weight of the Hongyi cannons and the difficulty of transporting them, the cannons on the other walls of the Ming army may not be deployed until the afternoon, and the defense line located in the east of the city and facing the Zijin Mountain may not even arrive until late afternoon.

Because the city of Nanjing is too big, the roads in the city alone have to walk for twenty miles in seven turns and eight turns to pass through the city.It takes a lot of time to pull something weighing three or four thousand catties, even with an ox cart.

The temporary artillery firepower density of the Qing army made the Ming army's musketeers and crossbowmen unable to reach out to shoot at the top of the city. Even if they hid behind the battlements and fired obliquely at a 45-degree angle, it was possible that the battlements themselves would be shot. The flying shells shattered directly, killing the gunmen and crossbowmen behind the battlements.

In the end, some timid gunmen of the Ming army could only squat behind the battlements with their heads lowered, throwing random shots upwards obliquely, not daring to aim visually at all.

……

Less than a quarter of an hour after the Qing army's general attack, Shi Kefa judged the main attack direction, and reinforcements from all over the place were rushed over. Regardless of the danger, Shi Kefa himself came to supervise the battle near the most tragic city wall near the mouth of the Qinhuai River.

It's just that his staff and generals were afraid that he would put himself in danger, so they dragged him to the wall, saying that the Qing army's heavy artillery bombardment was too severe, and the city might be killed by stray bullets and blown up debris at any time. Duo was putting on the posture of betting all-in with him.

In the end, the guards and the generals dragged Shi Kefa to hide under the reverse slope of the city wall, a little thirty or forty steps away from the wall, and set up a temporary commander to supervise the battle.This distance will not be hit by the parabola of the shell, and it can be guaranteed that it will be completely blocked by the city wall, and it will not be splashed by the stones blown and splashed by the city because it is too close.

Even so, after overseeing the battle for half an hour, Shi Kefa was also covered in ashes, and the mud and dust raised by the shelling had scratched his beard with a handful of scum.

Even Shi Kefa was in such a state of embarrassment, it can be seen how brutal the frontline soldiers were fighting each other.

The battle lasted until noon. The Qing army outside the city had already paid the lives of at least [-] river-filling traitors, and several times more civilians died in battle. The elite Eight Banners archers of the Qing army probably lost a thousand people. above.

And that section of the Qinhuai River was basically filled up. It is estimated that after lunch, the Qing army could directly attach to the base of the city wall, and the heavy siege weapons could also be pushed directly under the base of the city wall.

The Ming army musketeers, crossbowmen, and auxiliary soldiers throwing logs and rocks at the head of the city also had at least 1000 casualties each.

Fortunately, soldiers of the Ming army can be carried down immediately when they are injured, and they have the control to clean up the battlefield, so there are fewer direct deaths. Once a soldier of the Qing army is seriously injured under the city or by the Qinhuai River, it is basically impossible to be dragged back by his comrades. , It is tantamount to waiting for death slowly.

Shen Tingyang, as Minister of the Household Department, did not need to be on the front line to supervise the battle like Shi Kefa of the Ministry of War, but he also did his part in the city.

First of all, he sent maids and medical officials from the Shen family and some officials and dignitaries who had made good friends with the Shen family to take care of and treat the wounded, and asked the servants to help carry the stretcher to send the wounded down.

Then, after Shen Tingyang sent someone to discuss with Shi Kefa and confirmed that he did not violate the taboo, he had money to contribute, announcing that he would take out 100 million two properties to reward and compensate the city guards.

If this kind of thing is done by someone else, it may violate the taboo of the royal family. Most emperors of the Ming Dynasty were more cautious in this regard. Shen Wansan contributed money to help Zhu Yuanzhang build part of the Nanjing City Wall, and was later liquidated.But Shen Tingyang is in-laws with the emperor now, so it doesn't matter.

Hearing that Mr. Shen Ge spent all his money, he was as generous and compassionate as the king of Zhou back then, and the soldiers of the Ming army were also invigorated.

Especially for the wounded soldiers who were carried down, everyone cashed in on the spot directly at the city wall, first issued a silver ingot of five taels as soup and medicine expenses, and bought some wine and meat to replenish their bodies, and the other soldiers saw it Here, it is also quite exciting.

In addition to the reward of 100 million taels for the regular army, Shen Tingyang allocated another 100 million taels of property to recruit Minzhuang to help defend the city.

Anyone who is willing to go up the city wall to throw logs and rocks, or go up the wall to help carry the wounded and transport ammunition, can get rewards and incentives of a certain standard.For a while, the young and strong poor in Nanjing were quickly encouraged to participate.

At lunch time, as the Qinhuai River was filled with gaps that allowed heavy siege vehicles to pass through, the Qing army also took a short breath, preparing for a continuous general offensive.

The soldiers of the whole army took a rest, only the artillery unit never stopped, and during the lunch break, they bombarded the position where there was a gap in the moat.

The Ming army also took the opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief, and Shi Kefa also retreated to eat a few mouthfuls of dry food in a hurry, and drank a cold water from a bamboo tube.It was only at this time that Shen Tingyang had the opportunity to say a few words to Shi Kefa, and by the way, ask for instructions on what else he can do.

Shi Kefa gasped for water while drinking water, and said bitterly: "Sure enough, I expected it. Today's attack is so fast, it must be Wang Duo and Qian Qianyi who told Duduo the news that our reinforcements are coming, and Duduo. Believe it!

Now that things are up to now, the most important thing is that we can't be chaotic internally.I estimate that this section of the city wall may be blasted to open a gap in the afternoon. I have ordered people to dig behind the possible gap in advance, and then temporarily dig trenches and rammed earth walls to ensure that after the Tartars break through the outer wall, they will still be blocked in the second line. behind the line of defense.

The reserve team of our army must gather here as soon as possible, and when the time comes, we will completely block the gap and fight the Tartars to the end!The Tartars passed through just one gap, and the Hongyi cannons couldn't hit the second temporarily reinforced trench wall in the wall. As long as we fight to the death, it is unlikely that we will be broken through!

Now we have to beware of unstable people in the city, and beware of wavering in other places who are willing to respond internally.Uncle Shen Shi, I will leave the order in the city to you. Ask His Majesty for a handbook, and then take the badge of our Ministry of War, and hurry to control those who have close ties to other officials who have surrendered to the enemy——

We can't implicate the innocent, some people are just friends with Wang Duo and the others, and we can't overturn a whole boat of people with one stick, but we must beware of their reckless behavior in extreme times.So after controlling it, bring all the young and strong children of the suspect's family to the wall to join the battle!

The confidant of our army will supervise the battle behind the scenes with a knife!Those who refuse to step forward to kill the enemy will be treated as collaborators!Those who are willing to kill the enemy Mingzhi, even if they are not proficient in martial arts, as long as they do not violate the order and retreat, they will be cleared of suspicion!Gather all these people together, so that no one in the city will think about it! "

Shen Tingyang can be regarded as a man of chivalry. After hearing this, he immediately said in a big way: "Let's not give anyone a handle. Since I want my dear son to join the battle, I will ask my youngest son to help transport the ammunition... My servants will also go to the wall to kill the enemy! When the time comes, those who have a good relationship with Wang Duo and the others can't blame me for suppressing them!"

When Shi Kefa heard this, he couldn't bear it slightly: "Uncle Shi, I remember you only have two sons, right? Shuren Xianshu has been given the national surname, and you only have one left to inherit the Shen surname..."

Shen Tingyang: "If you put it this way, Xianzhi doesn't have any sons. I remember you only accepted one adopted son."

Shi Kefa smiled wryly: "That's true, but the adopted son of a certain person can't go up the wall to kill the enemy. Before the battle, I was afraid that Zijin Mountain might lose something, so I sent him and Yan Ermei to guard Zijin Mountain."

Shen Tingyang: "What's the matter, at least you have come to your mind. In the current situation, the most fearful thing is that people's hearts will not be stable. If our family members don't go up, let others go up. That's no reason."

Soon Shi Kefa had had enough rest, and went to supervise the battle again, and Shen Tingyang also followed his instructions, and quickly invited an emergency order, announcing that all those Donglin and Fushe personnel who had been closely related to the traitors and demoted officials were arrested, and also Good people are not wronged, as long as they personally go to the wall to help and prove their innocence.

Not all people in Donglin are spineless softies. Some people with integrity are deeply ashamed when they hear that their former mentors and old friends have become traitors.
For example, several of Qian Qianyi's favorite students when he was in the Guozijian were arrested by Shen Tingyang at this moment, and they all said that they would draw a line with that kind of traitor, and then went to the wall to help transport rolling logs, rocks and ammunition to wash away their shame.

The soldiers of the Ming army at the top of the city, when they saw a group of emaciated men in leather armor or cotton armor, but wearing a scholar's scarf in their helmets, they also came up to help transport ammunition and wounded. A shock.

It is the responsibility of everyone in the city to defend Nanjing City!All beings are equal regardless of high or low!Usually, these talented masters may feel superior to others when they see the big soldiers, but at this moment, even the talented masters have come to fight side by side with the soldiers!

"Brothers, hold on! The Tartars lead beasts to eat people. We are not defending the city for the surname Zhu, but for our fathers and fellow villagers! So that the people of the world don't have to be slaves of the Tartars! The honor and disgrace of a family, the meat-eater seeks it. The world Rise and fall, everyone is responsible!"

The scholars who cleared up their suspicions shouted the slogans they read from Zhu Shuren's "On the Traitors", and used the colloquial Chinese as far as possible to explain it to the uneducated soldiers at close range.

(End of this chapter)