The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 263: Hearing the Flute on a Snowy Night, Shadow Warrior

He Kegang was still worried after hearing this:
"Liu Zhaosun brought hundreds of thousands of troops, which is more than enough manpower."

"Hahaha, so what if it's enough? Rammed earth walls can't be built just by having a lot of people. Besides people, there's a lot more needed."

"Take clay, for example. We need sticky loess, crushed and sieved. The mud at the bottom of the field must be fully fermented. If the wall is 40 feet high and people are to stand on it, the ground must be no narrower than 20 feet. Calculate how much earth the thief Liu will need to move."

He Kegang, originally a quartermaster under Xiong Tingbi, knew little about city construction. After hearing Zu Dashou's well-reasoned explanation, he stopped talking, bowed, and left with a few of his men.

In the 47th year of Wanli's reign, after the Liaodong governor died for his country, He Kegang was transferred from Liaoshen to Shanhaiguan to serve as the garrison.

He Kegang lived up to his name. He was an upright and incorruptible official, which made him incompatible with his ancestors who were corrupt and murdered innocent people to gain credit.

After the bloody battle of Hunhe, Zu Dashou was promoted and became rich, but he was never promoted.

This time when the Kaiyuan army attacked western Liaoning, He Kegang was transferred to Ningyuan to assist Zu Dashou in defending the city and was placed on the front line.

He Kegang had no good feelings towards Zu Dashou, but he didn't dislike him either.

Marshal Zu regarded He Shoubei as a thorn in his side. If it were not for the Kaiyuan army's expedition to western Liaoning, Zu Dashou would have sent him back to the interior this year.

Originally, in history, after Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned, He Kegang led his troops to garrison Jinzhou and Dalinghhe fortress.

In the fourth year of Chongzhen (1631), the Ming army was trapped by Huang Taiji in Dalingh River. The commander Zu Dashou was ready to surrender to the Qing army, but He Kegang refused to agree and was brutally killed.

History is always full of amazing coincidences. Somehow, the two met again. This pair of former enemies were now trapped in Ningyuan City at the same time.

It’s the same isolated city surrounded by enemies, and it’s also a life-or-death situation. But no one knows who will surrender to the enemy first this time.

Zu Dashou watched He Kegang's back as he slowly walked down the city wall, a hint of hatred in his eyes. He turned around and asked the servant to call Zu Dabi.

Zu Dabi, looking tired, hurried over and asked his elder brother what urgent matter had called him for.

Zu Dashou raised his finger and pointed at He Kegang who was walking away, and said:
"Immediately send a few reliable servants to keep an eye on this He. I have a feeling he will defect to the Kaiyuan Army."

When Zu Dabi heard that He Kegang was going to turn against us, he immediately said angrily:

"Brother, what are you waiting for? Just..."

Zu Dashou looked around and signaled his brother to speak more quietly:
"There are still many foreign troops in the city. If we kill He Kegang for no reason, people will lose their morale. He has some popularity in Shanhaiguan. Dabi, we can't lose the big picture over a small one. Keep a close eye on him. If there's anything unusual, it won't be too late to take action!"

After hearing this, Zu Dabi nodded repeatedly and secretly admired Zu Dashou's cautious approach.

The two talked for a few more words, and Zu Dabi turned around and was about to leave, but suddenly he remembered something and his relaxed brows frowned again.

"Brother, Liu Zhaosun and his men are digging tunnels everywhere. Even though the ground is frozen, we have to be on guard."

Zu Dashou looked down at the city. On the snowy field, thousands of foreign Liao people were working like busy ants, constantly carrying stones and ash out of countless tunnel entrances. They were working hard.

"Don't worry, I have my own defenses, but not now. I want Liu Zhaosun to spend more effort. After all, there are more people around!"

Zu Dashou looked at his brother and found that there was some blood on Zu Dabi's face and body.

This was left over from yesterday's bloody battle with the Kaiyuan Army.

He patted his brother on the shoulder and comforted him:

"If we can fight this battle with Liu the thief again, we will win, our ancestral home will be saved, and Liaodong will be ours in the future. Go and prepare first, take care!"

~~~~
Liu Zhaosun got up early.

A new round of siege by the Kaiyuan army is about to begin in front of the moat.

Liu Zhaosun asked the guards to help him put on his armor, grabbed a steamed bun from the table and walked out.

The guards followed closely behind, panting:

"Marquis Ping Liao, the commander of the artillery camp sent someone to say that the artillery can't hit the city wall. The red barbarian cannons only leave a few white spots on the top of the city. Zu Dashou also imitated us and sent soldiers to pour water on the city wall. I'm afraid it will be even more difficult for the Liao people to climb the city today."

Liu Zhaosun nodded and smiled:
"Zu Dashou is learning and applying it right away, not bad."

"Sir, this is the battle plan for today's Second and Third Guards Armies. You haven't signed it yet."

Liu Zhaosun took the densely written battle plan and glanced at it quickly. The content was roughly the same as what he discussed with the two army commanders last night. He took out a bamboo pen and carefully signed his name.

After the messenger guard walked away, he took out the cold steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth without even looking at it.

"Crack!"

Ping Liaohou covered his mouth with a painful expression.

The surrounding guards immediately raised their shields and protected Ping Liaohou in the center, as they thought he was being attacked by an assassin.

Liu Zhaosun stretched out his hand to push the crowd away, picked up the rock-hard steamed bun on the ground, and couldn't help but complain:
"I hit my teeth. It's harder than a cannonball!"

The personal guard brought a bowl of steaming mutton soup. Liu Zhaosun took a big gulp and hurried towards the battlefield.

The guards chased after him and shouted, "General Liu, eat first before you leave."

"Heat it up first and drink it at noon."

The guards accompanied Ping Liaohou to the moat, where a large number of Liao people had already begun to cross the river.

Twenty thousand Liao people approached the main city of Ningyuan from all directions. They pushed huge shield carts with hooks, ladders, ropes and other climbing equipment hanging on them. The two thousand people mixed together, like a colony of ants moving.

There was a thick layer of ice on the river surface, so there was no need to build a floating bridge today. The shield cart squeaked past, and the ice surface did not move at all.

Liu Zhaosun once again lamented the power of the Little Ice Age.

At this time, Deng Changxiong's voice came from behind.

"Marquis Ping Liao is here in person, and we will definitely capture Ningyuan today."

When I looked back, Deng Changxiong and Wang Erhu were walking towards me.

The two men came to Liu Zhaosun and saluted. Liu Zhaosun sat on the armchair and asked the guards to bring two small stools. He gestured for the two men to sit down. Deng Changxiong and Wang Erhu looked at each other and did not sit down.

Liu Zhaosun did not force himself. He stood up from the armchair, raised his telescope and looked into the distance, observing the entire battlefield.

The earthen wall at the west gate was already over two zhang tall, almost reaching the height of Ningyuan's main city. The Liao people and foreign tribes were moving bricks and stones to the base of the wall like ants. "We're making rapid progress. We'll be finished tonight. Strength lies in numbers."

Liu Zhaosun nodded with satisfaction.

The three of them looked at the tunnel across the moat where soil was being transported out.

"Zu Dashou didn't care about our tunneling. Yesterday, he just fired a few rounds at the tunnel entrance, killing a dozen Liao people. Apart from that, he didn't take any other action."

Deng Changxiong handed the telescope back to Liu Zhaosun with a puzzled look on his face.

Liu Zhaosun tightened his gaze and explained the doubts to his subordinates:
"Zu Dashou is just waiting for the best time."

Currently, there are two main methods of tunnel attack: one is to dig a tunnel into the city, and the other is to destroy the city wall. The Kaiyuan army adopted the method of destroying the city wall.

In fact, it is very difficult to attack the city through the tunnel.

"The tunnel must be very wide, able to accommodate a large number of soldiers to quickly enter the city."

Wang Erhu and Deng Changxiong were busy taking notes while listening.

"I once heard from my adoptive father that they used this method to defeat the chieftain when they were suppressing a rebellion in the southwest."

The method Liu Zhaosun mentioned was to dig all the way to the corner of the wall, continue digging deeper, and at the same time move some sturdy wooden stakes into the tunnel. After removing the soil under the wall foundation, use these wooden stakes to support the wall foundation above.

After completely hollowing out a section of the city wall, they evacuated the personnel and set fire to the wooden piles supporting the foundation, causing the wall to collapse.

Of course, now that we have gunpowder, we don’t have to go through so much trouble. We can just push the coffin filled with gunpowder and sulfur under the city wall and detonate it.

Starting in the afternoon, there was a sudden snowstorm. Outside Ningyuan City, the snow was three feet thick. It was difficult for both sides to fire their firearms, and the siege became extremely difficult.

Liu Zhaosun ordered a halt to the siege.

The army's line advanced one mile, and the entire army crossed the river one after another and set up camp next to the city wall. The central army tent was only eight hundred steps away from the city wall.

The Ningyuan defenders did not dare to take the initiative to attack. The reinforcements from Shanhaiguan hesitated and only sent scouts to the south to conduct reconnaissance, but they were all driven away and hunted down by the Kaiyuan cavalry.

The two sides reached a stalemate.

During the confrontation, the Ningyuan encirclement gradually shrank and the defenders' living space became smaller and smaller.

The auxiliary troops cut off the river flowing into the city, and the snow water in the city could not last long.

The Liao people were busy making shield carts and hook ladders.

More artillery was pushed to the front of the moat.

The construction of the tunnels and earth walls is progressing smoothly.

There was a faint movement behind the precarious earth wall.

When the Kaiyuan army paused its siege, the Ningyuan defenders were also busy.

The defenders continuously transported rolling logs and thunder stones to the top of the city walls, and set up large pots behind the battlements, lit a blazing fire, and mixed gold juice and various unknown liquids into the pots.

After the snow stops, there will be a world-shaking battle.

The Rocket Force launched two waves of divine fire crows towards the top of the city, killing and injuring more than a dozen defenders. The city was quickly replenished with troops.

When Lei Jiangtou and his men were about to continue launching rockets, they were stopped by guards sent by Ping Liaohou.

"There's no need to launch rockets. Once the earth wall is built, we can bombard it from a high vantage point."

Winter days are short, and darkness falls quickly. On the twelfth day of the Battle of Ningyuan, the siege still made little progress, with the heaviest casualties coming from artillery fire and frostbite. Ping Liaohou lost over a thousand more people.

After nightfall, the snow fell heavier, the shelling gradually ended, and both the attackers and defenders fell silent.

The sad and moving flute sound rang out all around.

Ping Liaohou picked up the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and was reading about Zhuge Liang's empty city plan when he suddenly heard the sound of a flute outside the tent. His heart was moved and he thought of Jin Yuji.

Ping Liaohou called the guards and asked what was going on.

"Who's playing the flute?"

The guard pointed to Ningyuan City and said to Ping Liaohou:

"My Lord, the sound of the flute came from the city wall. It must be the Ningyuan garrison."

The sound of the flute is mournful and sad, as if the dead soul is telling about his misfortune.

"Let's go to the front and listen."

The guards quickly dissuaded him:

"Your Excellency's body is worth a ton of gold. You shouldn't venture into dangerous places lightly. If you go any further, the muskets of the city wall defenders will hit you..."

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand:
"It's no wonder. Hearing the song of willow-breaking tonight, who wouldn't be nostalgic for home? If he keeps playing like this, the army's morale will be shaken."

~~~~~~~
Under the cold night sky, the flute sounds melodious.

A luxuriously decorated tent was set up right next to the moat.

The blazing bonfire on the shore illuminated the earth, and a group of generals surrounded the commander and walked into the tent.

A candle was lit in the tent, reflecting a figure reading by candlelight at night.

The crisp sound of musketry suddenly rang out from the top of Ningyuan City.

The candle flame was knocked over, and the figure in the tent slowly fell to the ground.

There was immediate panic around the tent, with a group of officers coming in and out.

The shrill flute sound suddenly stopped.

There were cries on the snowy night.

(End of this chapter)