Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 109 Battle of Baoding

At this time, Shao Zongyuan couldn't sit still. The rogue thief's amazing ability really made him a little worried!
So, he rushed to the top of the city to see the situation.This time, all the generals were silent.As Shao Zongyuan's confidant general, Lu Yingjiao introduced the situation and said: "The bandits have arrived again with about 5 troops."

The bandits originally numbered 6 or [-] men, which was double the number. The situation became serious.

In the end, no one said much, everyone prepared, and they just defended the city.

But who would have expected that on the second day, another army of thieves arrived. At this time, Shao Zongyuan became anxious and quickly summoned the generals to ask about the situation.

Ma Ke said with a very serious expression: "The general is looking at the flags of the thief army, I am afraid that the main force of the thief Li is coming!"

His words should be the most authoritative.

In fact, no one expected that the main force of Li Thief would come to attack Baoding.

For a moment, everything was quiet in the lobby of the Governor's Yamen.

I heard that Li's army numbered one million. Even if it didn't, there must be four to five million, right?With so many thieves attacking Baoding, can it still be defended?
This question weighs on everyone's mind like a mountain.

However, the silence brought about by the pressure did not last long, as Shao Zongyuan laughed loudly, and then said loudly: "It seems that the generals are still defending the city well, but the rogue army was unable to secure Baoding, so he became angry from shame. Lead the main force to attack. I want to see where the bandit army will go if the main force cannot capture Baoding!"

At this point, when he saw the generals looking at him, he smiled again and said: "The more thieves attack the city, the greater our achievements will be. This is a good opportunity!"

Hearing his words, Lu Yingjiao, a local general in Baoding, immediately responded: "What the Governor said is absolutely true. I really feel that the bandits are not enough to kill!"

Baoding deputy general Zhang Datong and guard Zhang Zhitan, father and son, also came out. Zhang Datong, the father, said: "We are in the city. Unless the general is killed in battle, the bandit army will never be able to break through the section of the city defended by the general!"

Marco saw that their main army was expressing their stance one after another, and the governor's eyes were looking at these guest troops, so he had no choice but to follow suit and express his stance that he would definitely defend the city.

However, he still reminded: "Your Majesty Governor, since the reinforcements of the rebel army arrived yesterday, the rebel army has not launched another attack. It is time to prepare for the attack in order to capture Baoding in one go. Therefore, once the war starts, it will be tragic. , please also ask the Governor to prepare enough reserve manpower and materials to defend the city!"

After hearing this, Shao Zongyuan thought it made sense, and immediately nodded and said, "Okay, I will summon all the squires in the city and ask them to contribute money and materials, and be ready to support the generals!"

Therefore, with the arrival of the main force of bandits, Baoding City began to mobilize again based on the previous mobilization, and various defensive materials were continuously sent to the city for backup.

On this day, the bandits still did not attack the city. The sky above Baoding felt like the calm before the storm, which was so quiet that it made people feel heavy.

Another day later, the Chinese army led by Li Zicheng arrived outside Baoding City.

Early the next morning, the troops of the Dashun Army had filled their stomachs. Amidst the sound of "woo woo woo" horns, the soldiers of the Dashun Army marched out of the camp and surrounded Baoding City in an almost overwhelming manner.

Obviously, Li Zicheng was in a hurry. The main army arrived outside Baoding City. He didn't even have an extra day to rest, and launched such a large-scale offensive the next day.

Of course, he didn't start the fight blindly.

A few days before he arrived, military orders had been sent. Therefore, Liu Fangliang and others fully supervised the construction of siege equipment in the army. By the time Li Zicheng's army arrived, a lot of them had been built.

At this time, we saw heavy artillery pulled out by mules in the military camp, including general cannons and even Hongyi cannons, more than 20 of them.

But what is more conspicuous are more siege ladders, which are folded ladders on wooden wheels.Before approaching the city wall, the soldiers hid behind to avoid bows and arrows. After approaching the city wall, they could extend the ladder and lean against the city wall. There were barbs at the top of the ladder to hook onto the battlements and prevent them from being overturned by the defenders on the city wall.

There are fewer siege ladders than siege ladders, but equally conspicuous are the siege towers.

This kind of siege equipment was also built on wooden wheels and pushed forward by soldiers.On the top of the siege tower, there are a large number of soldiers preparing to attack the city. By virtue of their height, which is almost the same as the city wall, or even higher than the city wall, they can remotely suppress the defenders on the city head.When the siege tower gets close to the city wall, the baffle on the front will be lowered and hit on the city wall to form a bridge, so that the soldiers on the siege tower can step across the bridge and go directly to the city head.

In addition to these huge and eye-catching siege equipment, there are also the largest number of simple ladders, which are ordinary ladders. Although the disadvantage is that they have no protection, the advantage is that they are light. Not only can they be easily sent under the city wall and set up for attack, but they also have a good impact on the terrain. There are no requirements.The most important thing is that this kind of simple ladder is easy to build and has a large number, which makes it difficult for the defenders to concentrate on coping.

In addition to these, there are also wooden curtains for protection, which are the carriages most commonly used by Jianlu. They put shields on the carriages and push them around. Because they are huge shields, they can provide cover for the soldiers hiding behind. There are also many cars.

The battering ram was also prepared, which was similar to a mobile wooden house, but there was a huge battering log hanging in the house, specially used to hit the city wall.

There are even trench bridges and trench-filling vehicles. In short, there are so many siege equipment that it can be said that anything that can be built and used can be found on the battlefield.

Looking at this scene, Li Zicheng's number one general Liu Zongmin said to Liu Fangliang with satisfaction: "Old Liu, it's okay. This mere Baoding can definitely be defeated in one go, and I think it's almost enough to defeat the capital of the Ming Dynasty!"

Li Zicheng was also satisfied, with a smile on his face, and said calmly: "Just treat Baoding as the capital of the Ming Dynasty and let my brothers practice!"

The implication is that it seems to be overkill.

At this time, he was not angry because of the setback in Jin. On the contrary, he was looking forward to Jin. When the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was happy to take back Taiyuan, he found out that he only got tasteless food. Do you know what it will be like?
Do you want to build a loyalty hall to win people's hearts?Haha, after taking over Taiyuan, if a large number of people under the rule starve to death, will there still be people's hearts?
He doesn’t want the people to starve to death. It’s just spring plowing time now and the autumn harvest is still far away. Let’s see what he does!
Thinking of this, Li Zicheng was in an even better mood!

When the news that he had conquered the capital reached the ears of the Ming Emperor in Jin, I didn’t know what his expression would be!
As he thought about it, a smile appeared on Li Zicheng's face.

Niu Jinxing secretly observed his expression and complimented: "I believe His Highness will be able to drink tea in Baoding Mansion before sunset!"

When he said this, Li Zicheng came back to his senses, laughed immediately, pointed at the Baoding City Road with his riding crop: "Shout, and those who surrender will avoid death!"

Although the arrows are ready and the means of attacking the city are in place, it would be best if they could conquer Baoding City without a fight.

Upon hearing his words, a cavalryman with a loud voice galloped out towards the city wall and shouted loudly.

Li Zicheng, on his side, observed the city with clairvoyance.Although it was far away and a little blurry, he could tell from his experience that the defenders on the city were probably a little nervous.

It's no wonder that such a powerful siege force is prepared for the most powerful city in the world like the capital. Can the mere city of Baoding be taken down?

However, the guard on the city showed his attitude by shooting arrows.

When the cavalrymen came back to report without even shouting, Li Zicheng knew that it was useless to persuade him to surrender.

His happy mood suddenly turned a little unhappy, and he shouted coldly: "The first one to climb the city will be granted the title of Baoding Bo and be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!"

Then, another cavalry galloped out and shouted Li Zicheng's promise along the front line of the attacking team.

"His Highness has a decree. If you succeed first, you will be granted the title of Baoding Bo and be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!"

"..."

When the cavalry came back, the thundering drums sounded, and thousands of troops moved with them.

The siege of Baoding City then began.

One by one, the carriages were pushed out of the formation. The soldiers of the Dashun Army who were hiding behind the carriages shouted together and pushed the carriages faster and faster, closer to the city wall.The wheels and the dust brought by the footsteps of the soldiers rose up all over the sky and floated in the air outside the city.

Behind them, there are trench-filling trucks and the like, rushing towards the section of the moat that was not filled in in the previous siege, trying to fill in the moat; there are also trench bridges, which will be erected on the moat later to provide support for the army. Open up more passages so that more soldiers can attack the city at the same time.Behind them, groups of soldiers, either fully armed or carrying simple ladders, were slowly advancing. When they got closer, they started to charge with shouts.

"Come on..."

"Kill..."

The loud shouts of killing covered up the sound of war drums and became the loudest sound in the sky above Baoding City.

The archers and gunmen who were hiding behind the chariots left the cover of the chariots and began to shoot at the top of the city to cover their companions who were about to attack the city.

On the top of the city, artillery also began to bombard, and finally there was a sound that drowned out the shouts of killing.

"Boom boom boom..."

However, these artillery pieces were not bombarding the attacking infantry, but the heavy siege equipment behind the infantry, such as siege towers, siege ladders, Lu Gong's chariots, etc.

Iron bullets roared out one after another, hitting the target far outside the city, or hitting the target, causing the huge wooden siege equipment to collapse, killing and injuring a large number of Dashun soldiers on the siege equipment; or Missing the target, the iron bullets hit the ground and then jumped up, plowing out ditches. The unlucky Dashun Army soldiers who happened to be on this ditch were all torn apart and turned into broken limbs.

The artillery on the Dashun Army's side was pulled by whipping mules and horses, and quickly approached the city wall. Some of them overturned because of the uneven road, but more artillery was pulled to the preset positions, and the accompanying artillery He began to nervously load and unload the equipment, and then fired on the city.

"Boom boom boom..."

Iron bullets also roared out one after another, either hitting the city wall and making big craters, or hitting the battlements, sending rubble flying and causing immediate casualties to the defenders on the top of the city; there were also iron bullets , roared over the city head and hit the city.As for the effect, it cannot be seen outside the city.

At this time, soldiers of the Dashun Army were already setting up simple ladders, leaning against the city wall one after another. They quickly pulled the ladders so that the barbs at the top of the ladders could be firmly hooked on the battlements. The siege soldiers then raised their hands with one hand. They protected their heads with shields and began to climb, but more brave people held a knife directly in their mouths and climbed quickly while holding the ladder with both hands...

The defenders on the top of the city either stabbed the emerging enemies with spears, or put down their mace and smashed them down the ladder, or poured boiled gold juice down the city...

Both above and below the city, casualties appeared in large numbers from the very beginning of the fighting.

But at this time, human life was like a piece of grass. Even though the companions were wailing there, no one paid attention. The attackers continued to attack the city, and the defenders continued to defend the city. The better ones were the reserves of the defenders at the head of the city, who knew how to watch. Chance to rescue some injured comrades.As for the people under the city, it is impossible to receive such treatment.

"Boom boom boom..."

"Blah blah blah..."

"Kill..."

The thunderous sound continued.

More and more soldiers of the Dashun Army crowded under the city wall, and more soldiers of the Dashun Army launched an attack on the top of the city.

Fortunately, some siege towers were pushed not far from the city wall, and the Dashun soldiers on the top of the towers had a better view to shoot arrows at the top of the city to suppress the defenders; some siege towers continued to move towards the city wall. Push forward, trying to get close to the city wall and climb to the top of the city.

The battering ram near the city gate was pushed to the city gate under the roof full of arrows. The Dashun soldiers hiding inside began to shout and hit the city gate with the battering ram, making one sound after another. The sound of impact.

The corpses were lying in a circle under the city head, and the water in the moat was dyed red, but this did not affect the Dashun army from continuing to attack the city head crazily.

There were fierce battles in all three directions of Baoding City.

The important generals and counselors on Li Zicheng's side were all watching the battle.

Suddenly, Li Guo pointed with his hand and said in surprise: "Attack!"

I saw a siege tower approaching the city wall at the south gate in the main attack direction before it was destroyed. The baffle was immediately lowered. The soldiers on the siege tower quickly stepped onto the baffle and jumped into the city. on the ground and launched an attack on the defenders.

The soldiers of the Dashun Army below the siege tower were also climbing quickly up the ladder inside, trying to climb to the top of the tower, and follow the warriors who climbed first to attack the defenders on the top of the city.

Affected by this, the simple ladders on both sides of the siege tower were no longer protected by the defenders, and the soldiers of the Dashun Army quickly climbed up the city.

It was almost visible to the naked eye that there were more and more Dashun soldiers on the city.

When Niu Jinxing saw this, he immediately smiled and said: "I asked them to surrender and refused to surrender. Now there is no chance."

But who would have thought that as soon as he finished speaking, he saw bursts of gunpowder smoke rising from the section where the city was attacked.

When the experienced Li Zicheng and others saw it, their faces darkened, knowing that it was time for the reinforcements on the city to use firecrackers.

In today's era, firearms are the most powerful weapons for killing people. Even if you are shot at close range, you will not be immune even if you are wearing armor.

Sure enough, on the top of that section of the city, the shadows of the defenders appeared again. They threw a large number of incendiary bottles at the siege tower, and soon the siege tower was burned with blazing fire. Some Dashun soldiers who could not escape were The soldiers, with their bodies still on fire, jumped to the ground no matter how high they were.

This section of the city wall was taken back by the defenders.

The war continued, and the artillery destroyed the archery tower into ruins. The city head collapsed, but it was immediately built up with sandbags by the defenders; the city gate was knocked open, but was shot dead by the defenders. The siege soldiers then blocked the city. Door.On several occasions, Dashun soldiers attacked the city, but were quickly eliminated or driven off the city by the defenders.

I don’t know how long it took, but almost no large siege equipment was seen on the battlefield. Even the artillery stopped bombarding because the barrels were too hot. There were many tatters on the city top, but Dashun The army still could not firmly occupy the city after attacking it.

As the siege equipment was consumed, Dashun's offensive inevitably slowed down.

Li Zicheng outside the city had a gloomy face. Although he was unwilling, he had to order the troops to retreat. If they continued to fight, they would only increase casualties.

The shouts of killing, the sound of gunfire, etc. over Baoding City finally slowly subsided.

Looking at the broken Baoding city wall, Song Xiance said with a serious expression: "It seems that Baoding city has made adequate preparations, and the generals who defend the city also know how to defend the city, otherwise the city would have been destroyed."

After hearing this, Niu Jinxing looked at him and asked, "What should we do?"

Hearing this, he glanced at Niu Jinxing, then looked at Li Zicheng and said: "This battle also consumes a lot of defensive equipment in the city. It's just Baoding City. The supplies are limited. The replenishment of the defensive equipment, Wei Chen thought, is also limited. If we come again a few more times, Baoding City will be destroyed!"

Li Zicheng heard this but did not answer. He turned around and returned.

What he wanted was to conquer the city in one go, not to lose troops and generals. It would take a large number of casualties to capture Baoding City!

You know, this is just Baoding City. What he really wants to fight is the capital of the Ming Dynasty!
That is the most fortified city in the world. Even Baoding City has been defeated like this. What will happen when we attack the capital?
The previous attack on Ningwuguan failed, because Ningwuguan is a natural danger, and it is understandable that it was not possible to defeat it!Nowadays, Baoding City is surprisingly difficult to conquer, which really makes him a little surprised and unhappy!
He may not know that when the war calmed down, Baoding City was in a mess. Everyone's face had a heavy expression, and there was no joy at all in defending the city.

In this battle, we almost lost the city several times. If it weren't for Marco's suggestion, we concentrated the three-eyed muskets in advance and divided them into several reserve teams on standby. When we saw that the city was attacked, we went up and released a group of soldiers. After a while, firecrackers shot and killed the bandits who had stormed the city. The consequences were really unpredictable.

No one could have imagined that the thief army's siege would be so intense. Those who were confident at first that they could defend Baoding City lost their confidence.No one knows how many times Baoding City can be defended against such a powerful offensive by the bandits, and how long it will last.
The isolated city cannot be defended. Can Baoding have reinforcements?
(End of this chapter)