Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 298 Broken City
In the evening, the sky gradually darkened, and the Guilin battlefield, which had been noisy all day, gradually returned to tranquility.

Inside the Red Army's central camp, the commander of the personal guards, Yuan Ping, handed over a wax-sealed secret letter and said, "General, this is a secret letter from Wang Yuncheng. Wang Yuncheng tied the secret letter to a bow and arrow and shot it out of the city, but it was picked up by my soldiers."

Secretary Yang Yunqing opened the secret letter, glanced through it quickly, smiled, and said, "Wang Yuncheng, this old guy, is really thoughtful."

Danchu took the secret letter and saw only a few lines of words written on it: "Dear General: The water gate of Dongzhen Gate can lead to the city, and the defense of Wusheng Gate is empty. The enemy's lieutenant Rui Chenggong and the cavalry captain Zhou Zhiyuan died in the battle, and the morale is low. Kong Youde was held hostage by Bai Xiazi and dared not surrender."

All the generals came to watch and said in unison:

"Wang Yuncheng revealed the weakness of the Tartar city's defenses. It's obvious that he wants to surrender to me."

"But he refused to open the door and surrender. It was really frustrating."

"Our army lacks artillery. After two days of siege, we still haven't broken the cannon. Perhaps Wang Yuncheng is waiting and wants to bet on both sides."

"The situation is so clear, why is he still waiting?"

"It's really sad about Kong Youde. Everyone thought he was a vassal king, majestic and powerful, but he was controlled by the Manchu guards."

"What's the use of a rotten man like Kong Youde? No matter how high his official rank is, he is still a slave of the Manchus. Even if he wants to surrender, we can't agree to it."

……

"What's the situation at Dongzhen Gate and Wusheng Gate?" Dan Chu asked, and everyone immediately stopped talking.

The Chief of Operations, Ho Siu-chi, replied: "Dongzhen Gate is a water gate that leads to the Li River. Its walls are against the mountain and face the Li River. Wusheng Gate is a smaller gate, with its back against Yingwu Mountain. It is close to Xiqing Gate and has the most dangerous mountain. Our army did not attack Wusheng Gate, but only stationed a battalion of infantry outside the gate to contain it."

Guilin was easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the Red Army had been stationed at the city for a long time. Danchu's intuition told him that Wang Yuncheng was secretly in collusion, and Guilin was about to fall. He thought for a moment and said:
"So, select fifty good swimmers, pass through Dongzhen Gate overnight, carry flags, and hide on Diecai Mountain in the north of the city. If we succeed at Dongzhen Gate, we will attack Wusheng Gate tomorrow. Then send a message to Wang Yuncheng, urging him to open the gate and welcome the surrender."

The next morning, before daybreak, a hundred-man death squad assembled outside Wusheng Gate. All of these hundred death squad members were carefully selected from the imperial guards.

Danchu came to see them off in person, toasted them with wine, and said, "Brothers, last night, fifty of our brothers passed through the Dongzhenmen Water Gate and are now hiding on Diecai Mountain in the north of the city.

"Wang Yuncheng has surrendered to our army and is about to rebel. Guilin's defenses are weak and Kong Youde has run out of tricks. Brothers, if we can get to Wusheng Gate, we will be able to capture the city in one fell swoop. I offer you a bowl of wine and wish you all a successful start."

After drinking the farewell wine, everyone smashed the pottery bowls.

A captain bravely asked: "General, there were 200 death squad members in the last surprise attack on Hongshaao. At the end of last month, the general held a banquet outside Guilin City to entertain the surviving soldiers. This time, if we attack the city, can the general follow the precedent and treat us to a good drink?"

"No problem," Danchu replied, "As long as you reach Wusheng Gate, you will be successful. After you take the city, I will host a banquet at the Seven Stars Tower, the best building in Guilin, to entertain you!"

"Thank you, General!"

The death squads were full of dangers and the soldiers were eager to join. As long as they were selected as members of the death squads, they would be rewarded with at least ten taels of silver, regardless of whether they had made any contributions. Many people were promoted to sentry leaders after joining the death squads, making the leap from soldiers to officers. Even if they were unlucky and died in battle accidentally, their families would receive fifty taels of silver in pensions, which was enough for one child to be protected. Wusheng Gate was the most precipitous, built on the mountain, and easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Red Army never launched an attack here, and the Qing Army did not focus on defense here.

The death squad carried ten bamboo ladders and headed towards Wusheng Gate in the faint morning light.

After days of fierce fighting, the enemy troops at Wusheng Gate were already exhausted. When the Red Army's death squads reached the moat, they triggered the bells set by the Qing army, and the defenders discovered them.

The Yang River was shallow, and the moat, which was diverted from the Yang River, had been in disrepair for many years and had long been silted up. To facilitate the attack on Lize Gate, the Red Army built a weir upstream to block the Yang River, so that the troops could wade through the moat.

Soon, the alarm sounded at Wusheng Gate and Qing troops poked their heads out from various battlements.

Since the Red Army besieged the city, the Qing army has suffered heavy losses and low morale. Rui Chenggong, the assistant commander, Zhou Zhiyuan, the cavalry commander and other former members of Dongjiang Town died in battle. To boost morale, Kong Youde moved to Lize Gate to supervise the battle, and Li Yangxing and other generals were assigned to guard various city gates. Soldiers ate and slept on the top of the city, and each soldier was assigned a few battlements to barely hold up the city defense.

Attacking a city at night is several times more difficult than attacking it during the day. If you are not careful, you may accidentally kill more friendly troops than the enemy. The Red Army was not confident of attacking the city at night, so they chose to launch a night attack before dawn.

At this time, the sky was already slightly bright, and the Qing army could only vaguely see the shadows of the Red Army. They were in a panic, some using spray guns, some using bows and arrows, shooting randomly at the outside of the city.

The suicide squad rushed to the foot of the city wall, set up bamboo ladders, and climbed up under the arrows and spray guns of the Qing army.

The situation was urgent, and reinforcements would not arrive for a while, so the defenders fought back desperately. Arrows rained down, hitting the rattan shields with clanging sounds. The spray guns were like free, and they lit the fuse and sprayed downwards.

Several Red Army soldiers were wounded by arrows and fell down the wall. Some were not seriously injured and continued to climb up the bamboo ladder, while others broke bones and struggled to the bottom of the bamboo ladder to protect it.

The Qing army also put up a desperate resistance, leaning out from the battlements to shoot arrows and fire guns. More and more soldiers woke up from their sleep, picked up their battering rams and rolling knives, and attacked the Red Army's death squads.

"The Red Army is climbing the city! The Red Army is climbing the city!" A Red Army captain was very clever and shouted loudly. The other death-defying members understood and shouted in unison.

It was already daybreak, and the nearby area was clearly visible. The Qing army was timid. They knew that the Red Army had not yet entered the city, but they were disturbed by the Red Army's shouting. Kong Youde lived at Lize Gate. He was shocked to hear that there was a change at Wusheng Gate. He was about to lead troops to reinforce, but the Red Army launched a fierce attack on Lize Gate again.

Lize Gate is a flat area and is the key point of Guilin's defense. A moon-shaped city is built inside the city wall. Since the Red Army besieged the city, it has focused on attacking the North Gate and Lize Gate, and stationed heavy troops outside the two gates.

Kong Youde had no choice but to stay at Lize Gate to supervise the battle. The morale of the defenders was low, and the generals died one after another. If Kong Youde had not personally supervised the battle, I am afraid that the city would have been lost long ago.

The Red Army's death squad was brave and tenacious. They braved the arrows of the Qing army and sacrificed half of their members before finally climbing onto the Wusheng Gate wall. They fought hand-to-hand with the defenders, outnumbered and fighting without retreating. More Red Army soldiers crossed the moat, climbed up the bamboo ladders, and climbed onto the Wusheng Gate continuously.

By this time, the sky was bright. The Red Army flag was raised on Diecai Mountain, and fifty warriors waved the flag and shouted. The Qing army was even more terrified, thinking that the Red Army had already entered the city, and from time to time some people abandoned their weapons and fled down the city wall.

When Wang Yuncheng saw the Red Army attacking Wusheng Gate and heard that the Red Army occupied Diecai Mountain, he knew that the situation was hopeless, so he ordered the opening of Xiqing Gate and led the Red Army into the city.

(End of this chapter)