It's broken, and was picked up by a femme fatale

"The southeast corner has collapsed and hastily repaired. If you hit it, it will collapse!"

Haha!

God really helps the Chinese army!
Zhang and Huang looked at each other and laughed.

I searched for several days but couldn't find any flaws. It was effortless!
The two brigade commanders made a happy decision.

That night, they cooperated to fight a classic "making a feint to the east and attacking in the west" siege war.

Huang Botuo, commander of the 2nd Mixed Brigade,

In the northwest corner of Changsha City, a large-scale feint attack was launched.
After the defenders on the city walls were mobilized and restrained,

Then Zhang Linghu, commander of the First Brigade, led his troops to launch a surprise attack on the southeast corner.

Night falls, the moon is dark and the stars are sparse,

All the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Mixed Brigades had finished their dinner.
They all returned to their tents to sleep soundly and recuperate.

On the top of the city wall, Changsha prefect Zeng Tongguo, still in full armor, was patrolling around and observing the enemy situation.

Looking at the lifeless Chinese military camp across the street, some people began to boast.

"The rebels are at their wits' end. The prefect is truly the pillar of the country!"

"Of course! Our Lord is both civil and martial, how can a bunch of peasants compare to him?"

Some people began to speak up for Zeng Tongguo.
"Oh, if the court could pay more attention to you,

If we give them a little more money and food, we won’t lose half of Hunan Province…”

"Be careful!"

Although Zeng Tongguo was slightly proud, he also knew that slandering the court could easily bring trouble upon himself.

However, he waited until the other party finished speaking before stopping him.

"Right now, it's not easy at the top...

Even if the imperial court doesn't give us any money or food, we will still fight the rebels to the end!"

These words were spoken with force and passion.

The flatterer immediately understood the situation and gave him some flattery.

"What the prefect said is absolutely right!"

"It is a blessing for the people of Changsha to have Lord Zeng here!"

Of course, not all officials in Changsha are fools.
Someone asked, "Sir, when will the reinforcements arrive?"

Zeng Tongguo glanced at the other party and said casually:
"This government has reported to the court and the King of De,

Send an urgent message six hundred miles away. If nothing unexpected happens, reinforcements will arrive within ten days!"

The flatterer continued to flatter:

"When the army approaches, the rebels will inevitably be demoralized.
By then, the prefect will make a "central attack" and will definitely wipe out these two rebel forces!"

"That's right! With the help of both insiders and outsiders, the rebels are in a desperate situation and will be destroyed soon!"

As the group of people talked, they became excited.
They all boasted and cursed the Chinese army viciously.

As if doing so would not be enough to express loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

After patrolling the four gates, it was already late at night.

Zeng Tongguo is nearly 60 years old and is a little overwhelmed.
He then went down the city wall, and with the help of his servants, he got on the sedan chair and went home.

Zhang Linghu looked at his watch. It was 11 o'clock in the evening.

"Feint troops, move out!"

"Yes!"

A troop ready for battle immediately approached Changsha's south gate in the dark.

The tactic Zhang Linghu and Huang Botuo decided on was to "make a feint to the east and attack in the west".
However, considering that Zeng Tongguo was familiar with military tactics, this was a chain of strategies.

First, use a small force of one or two hundred people to feint and attack the south gate.

This number of people would definitely not escape Zeng Tongguo's eyes.
He certainly won't be fooled.
However, when Huang Botuo launched a massive feint attack on the northwest corner,
The Changsha prefect, who only knew how to read military books, was very likely to fall into the trap.

In fact, if a real fight came up, it would be easy for the Chinese army to capture the provincial capital Changsha.

So painstakingly arranged two feints,

It's just to minimize the number of deaths.

After all, the king always taught the senior generals of the Chinese army:
"You are all generals in the field. 'When a general is on the battlefield, he may not obey military orders.'
This statement is correct...but we should avoid killing innocent people.
Except for the main culprits and those who are stubborn and unrepentant, kill as few people as possible and be careful when killing unless absolutely necessary!"

Everyone knows that the king is kind to the people.
At that time, the fierce man Nurhachi,
He played a great role in defeating the Guards.

As a result, he built a Jingguan in Pingxiang City and was expelled from the army, and his bright future was ruined.

The high reward for his capture has not been withdrawn yet...

Learn from past experience!
Therefore, every general on each side,
When formulating combat plans, we try to avoid collateral damage or reduce it to a minimum.

When a gunshot was heard outside the South Gate, the defenders on the city wall suddenly became extremely nervous.

They rang gongs to warn the enemy and shot arrows randomly in the dark.

Zeng Tongguo, who had just laid down, immediately got up.

He put on leather armor and took a carriage to the South Gate Tower.

Seeing the prefect coming, the gatekeeper hurriedly introduced the enemy situation to him.

"Sir, the rebels are good at using firearms.

The attack is very fierce, let's take shelter downstairs!"

Under the city, two companies of the 1st Mixed Brigade,

They all aimed at the gatehouse and fired. The sound of gunfire continued.

"Crack!"

The battle was so chaotic that bricks and tiles were broken and dust was flying everywhere. It was a very lively scene.

Zeng Tongguo pretended to be calm and shouted loudly:
"Why are you panicking? The rebels' night attack is nothing more than an attempt to fish in troubled waters...

Don't worry about me, go and dispatch the soldiers to fight back. If you fail to defend effectively, don't blame me for enforcing military law!"

The lieutenant general had no choice but to return to his command position and shouted:

"Shoot, shoot! Don't let the rebels get close!"

"Shhhhh!"

Waves of arrows flew aimlessly into the darkness below the city.

In fact, the two companies of feint attack troops were all out of the range of the bows and arrows.
Even if a "stray arrow" occasionally flies into the formation, it cannot penetrate the silk because its kinetic energy is exhausted.

Soon, seeing that the rebels refused to retreat,

The lieutenant general proposed to Zeng Tongguo:
"Sir, would you like to transfer some personnel over to ensure everything goes well?"

At this time, there was fighting in the city for about a quarter of an hour.

Zeng Tongguo vaguely realized that something was wrong.

The rebels only fired guns, not artillery, and they didn't seem to have many firearms.

"No hurry, I'll take a look first!"

He plucked up his courage, went around to the side, and quietly climbed over the parapet to peek down.

Ok?
It's dark and I can't see clearly.

But, after such a long time, no rebels came to attack the city. There must be a problem!
Suddenly, a noun popped into my mind…“make a feint to the east and attack in the west”!
Ah, there is only one truth!
The rebels were at the south gate, most likely conducting a feint attack to cover their real attack point.

This idea just came into being.

As if to confirm his guess, the sound of gunfire like frying beans was heard in the northwest corner.

There were rifles, machine guns... and explosions,

Moreover, the shouts of killing were getting louder and louder, reaching the sky.

Wow, looking at this situation, there must be several thousand people!

I knew they wanted to "steal the chicken"!
Hum, I learned to read at the age of three.
At the age of seven, he was well-versed in the books of sages, and at the age of eighteen, he passed the imperial examinations. He was proficient in all military strategies and tactics...

You are just a trifle skilled in carving insects, but you still want to show off your skills in front of an expert...Great and Mighty Heavenly Dragon!
Oh, no~~
"Pass on my order: Order the two northwest gates to quickly reinforce the northwest corner. I will be there soon!"

"Yes!"

Two messengers immediately went down the city and rode away at full speed on horseback.

Lieutenant General Nanmen seemed to suddenly understand!
"Your Excellency is so wise! I admire you!"

Zeng Tongguo smiled slightly and said lightly:
"The art of war is just a few moves, it's not worth much...

"Your Excellency is in command of the strategy, and will surely win the battle thousands of miles away!

However, the northwest corner should belong to the rebels.

The main attack direction, should I also support them..."

Zeng Tongguo solemnly reminded the lieutenant general:

"No! Don't go anywhere! Just stay here and be careful of the rebels!"

After saying this, he was helped down to the ground by the servants and got into the carriage.

Halfway through the journey, the sound of cannon fire began to blast from the northwest corner.

Prefect Zeng immediately urged the carriage to gallop towards the northwest corner.

In fact, those mortar shells,
They all fell on both sides of the moat and did not explode on the top of the city at all, just to hear the noise.

Zeng Tongguo climbed up to the northwest corner of the city wall, panting.
When he looked down quietly, he found a large number of figures swaying and bullets raining down.

At this time, reinforcements from the two northwest gates arrived and immediately shot arrows down to repel the enemy.

The prefect's anxious mood finally calmed down a little.

The rebels were so cunning. Fortunately, I reacted quickly, otherwise Changsha would have been doomed...

However, the next moment,
From the southeast, several shells hit the city wall.
"Bang bang bang!"

Through the telescope, with the help of the faint light of the torches on the city walls,
Zhang Linghu saw it and fired a shot.
The city wall was just a big hole, and spider-web-like cracks appeared on the wall.

"That's it, keep blasting him!"

"Bang bang bang!"

Under the continuous bombardment, the southeast corner was repaired perfunctorily.
It's like paper, full of holes of all sizes...

Finally, a shell penetrated the hole and exploded inside the wall.
"Boom!"

A huge hole appeared.

The soldiers and civilians on the city wall only felt a shock under their feet, and then the bricks of the city wall slowly sank.

Someone screamed, "Oh no! It's going to collapse! Run!"

The people were terrified and fled in both directions.

Even the officers and soldiers on duty were running away with pale faces.

The next moment, two shells hit the huge hole.

"Boom! Boom!"

Countless sand and bricks were blown to pieces.
The southeast corner of the city wall lost its support.

After shaking twice, it collapsed completely with a dull "crack!"
Zhang Linghu waved his fist fiercely and shouted:
"Stop the shelling, charge!"

As soon as the cannon fire stopped, the messenger immediately raised his signal gun.

"Clap clap clap!"

Three red flares quickly rose into the air, like bright and magnificent stars.

"Duck rush!"

"Brothers, follow me!"

"Charge into Changsha City and capture Zeng Tongguo alive!"

More than a thousand people jumped up from the southeast corner, more than fifty meters away, and swarmed forward.

The ladder team rushed to the moat first.
They nailed wooden ladders to the moat.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten simple wooden bridges were formed.

The subsequent assault troops quickly stepped on the ladder bridge, rushed across the moat, and climbed up the collapsed city wall.

The southeast corner of Changsha was not originally a defensive focus.
Because of the huge psychological pressure caused by the collapse of the city wall, the few defenders all ran away.

Therefore, the 1st Mixed Brigade easily occupied the gap.

According to the pre-deployment, the assault force was divided into three parts:

Two hundred men on each wing climbed up the wall and pursued separately, making sure to occupy the East Gate and the South Gate.

The remaining thousand or so main forces rushed into the city.
They captured strategic points such as the prefectural government office, granary, military camp, and armory.
In this way, Changsha City was cut in half, making it impossible for the defenders to connect front and rear.

Huang Botuo gave up the feint attack and divided his troops to block the west gate and the north gate.
Hundreds of troops were also sent to the East Gate and South Gate to support the assault team of the First Mixed Brigade.
At this point, the Chinese army was in a situation of closing the door and beating the dog against the entire Changsha city.

The 1st Mixed Brigade Commando was divided into three groups.

Follow orders in an orderly manner and do your own thing.

As they attacked, they shouted about the prisoner policy:
"Those who resist will die!"

"Put down your weapons and don't kill!"

"Zeng Tongguo is finished, surrender immediately!"

"The Chinese Army is a people's army, dedicated to fighting corrupt officials!"

Many of the defenders and civilians knew that the city had been breached and Changsha would certainly not be able to be defended.
As a result, they fled in a rush, which in turn caused congestion on the city walls.

There were some things he couldn't get over, and in desperation, he lost his mind and actually jumped down from the top of the city wall.

If you jump down from the five-meter-high wall in the dark, you will either die or be crippled.

When I heard the Chinese army shouting slogans,

A large number of soldiers and civilians defending the city slowly laid down their weapons and knelt down with their hands behind their heads.

A few foolishly loyal defenders brandished swords and guns ferociously and charged in the opposite direction.

However, in the face of high-tech weapons,

These foolish and ignorant people were all beaten into a hornet's nest and turned into piles of rotten meat.

In the northwest corner, Zeng Tongguo was supervising the battle with full confidence.
Looking towards the southeast corner in shock and fear,

He simply couldn't believe that the Chinese army had broken through the city defenses in such a short time.

What to do next?
It seems that this is not taught in military books... It’s over!

At this time, he vaguely remembered that someone had told him:
It is better to have no books than to believe in them completely!

What you get on paper is shallow, but you know you have to do it!
Unfortunately, he realized it too late...

His confidants and two lieutenant generals knew that the situation was hopeless.
He immediately picked up the prefect Zeng, who was both civil and military, and ran to the north gate, intending to abandon the city and flee.

Unfortunately, hundreds of troops left the city.

They were intercepted by the Second Mixed Brigade, and were beaten to death, with dozens of people falling down.
The rest were so frightened that they retreated back to the north gate.

The Second Mixed Brigade took advantage of the situation, broke into the north gate, and chased after this team.

These defending generals had already panicked.
Like a frightened horse or a headless fly, they fled towards the city in panic.

However, many soldiers reacted.

At the call of slogans, they dropped their weapons and knelt on the roadside.

In this way, the fleeing team of hundreds of people was reduced to only a few dozen loyal confidants.
They broke into a residential compound, hid inside, and put up a desperate fight.

As the Chinese army poured into the city, key points were captured one after another.
By daybreak, most of the defenders had either been wiped out or surrendered.

The city defenses, which had been praised by the defenders and officials as being "impregnable",

In an instant, everything was reduced to ashes, leaving the people stunned with surprise.

Does the Chinese army have magic?
Or is it that Shen Lingchao's luck has run out?
But, fortunately, the Chinese army did not harm the civilians and helped treat the wounded.

Moreover, their officers and soldiers are strictly disciplined.

Not only do we not trespass into private homes, we also remind everyone to stay at home and not go out.

It seems that the rumors from Gan Province are true...

So the people stopped panicking.

There were even many residents who hated the government and helped the Chinese army beat up the government troops.

In order to defend the city, Zeng Tongguo exploited the people in the city.

Allowing residents to go up to the city is actually to serve as human shields for the dignitaries.

What a vicious intention!

When dawn came, the gunfire in the city gradually subsided.

Zhang Linghu and Huang Baituo both came to the last "stubbornly resisting" compound.

It is said that the Changsha prefect Zeng Tongguo was hiding in it.
The tricky thing is that they held an entire family hostage and threatened the Chinese army that they would kill the entire family if they dared to attack.

Zhang Linghu smiled and said to Huang Baituo: "What do you think we should do?"

Huang Botuo shook his head and said:
"If they like to be cowards, just let them be. Let's see how long they can endure it."

Zhang Linghu laughed and said:

"It's not worth it to deal with this kind of trash... Forget it, let's negotiate!"

Soon, the messenger took the tin trumpet and shouted into the yard:
"Listen, people inside, we can let you out of the city.

However, you must hand over the hostages and the entire city of Changsha."

After a while, half a head popped out from the wall.
"Is what you said true?"

"The Chinese military always keeps its word and strictly abides by its promises!

Besides, do you have any other way to survive?"

Half of the head disappeared, and after a long while, the man reappeared and asked:

"Prepare us horses and chariots.

Moreover, this family must leave the city with us...

Wait until we are ten miles away, then let them go!"

Zhang Linghu nodded and gave some instructions.
The messenger continued:
"Yes! But you cannot carry weapons.
If you don’t keep your integrity, you won’t survive next time!”

The two sides basically reached an agreement, and Zeng Tongguo only wanted to save his life.

He readily ordered all the defenders to surrender and hand over all the account books in the yamen.

Finally, Zhang Linghu gave him a carriage and more than 20 war horses.

He then ordered his subordinates to clear the way for Zeng Tongguo to escape from the city with his confidants and a dozen hostages.

At this point, the battle in Hunan Province entered its final stage.

Zeng Tongguo fled in panic.

I never expected that after escaping hundreds of miles, I would run into a large group of Chinese troops...

I believed your lies! (End of this chapter)