The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 366 Fierce Fight
"Everyone below the city, listen up! The Protector of the Country has issued an order! Everyone, step back immediately! Do not move forward! Do not approach the moat! Otherwise, you will be charged with treason and executed without mercy!"

Twelve Kaiyuan instructors followed behind the chief instructor Sen Ti, each holding a loud speaker and shouting loudly to the people approaching the moat, giving a final warning to the cannon fodder.

"Turn around and capture the bandit leader Zhang Chun. Whoever captures him will be promoted to commander and rewarded with 30,000 taels of silver!"

The Kaiyuan instructors and the rebels confronted each other and offered a higher reward.

"Don't listen to Liu Ze's nonsense. Charge forward! They only have 2,000 men, and we have 200,000. Charge forward. Charge into the capital and let you rob us of our silver and food!"

Zhu Liang, guarded by two of Zhang Chun's servants, came to the moat again and howled at the cannon fodder at the top of his lungs.

"Hurry up! After filling the trench, each of you will go to the city to get two bricks. Just two. After you get them, go back to the tent to eat meat and drink wine. After you break into the city, follow the soldiers to rob the silver and women!"

After Zhu Liang finished speaking, he hurriedly rode his horse back to the rebel formation.

Just as the two sides were engaged in a war of words, the people filling the trenches who had been so miserable just now suddenly became full of energy, and their eyes looking up at the Yongdingmen city wall began to be filled with a certain desire.

Liu Zhaosun keenly noticed this change and turned to Qiao Yiqi and said:

"General Qiao, it seems these people can only be cannon fodder."

Since Wang Congzhi and Han Zhenyi were both transferred to Shaanxi, the usually unmovable military supervisor Qiao naturally had to be responsible for being unmovable this time - he would be the one to command the artillery battalion.

"Does the Duke of Protectorate mean that we can fire now?"

Over the years, Qiao Yiqi has always had a conscience. He never thought that one day he would fire artillery at civilians.

Liu Zhaosun comforted the old subordinate and said:

"They were civilians before, but now they've become rebels. Do these cannon fodder really think the Kaiyuan Army can't lift their swords? I want to see what tricks Zhang Chun has up his sleeve!"

"Rebel artillery!"

Liu Zhaosun raised the telescope and looked in the direction of Qiao Yiqi's finger. Cannons slowly appeared in the large formation behind the dense shield carts.

Zhang Dong, who was standing nearby, said quickly, "Lord Protector of the Country, these are the Franco-cannons that the rebels brought from western Liaoning and Hebei, as well as the red-coated cannons that Zu Dashou hid."

Liu Zhaosun frowned. After the capture of Jinzhou, the group of French instructors under Zu Dashou who were good at firing artillery disappeared, and more than ten red cannons also disappeared along with the instructors.

The Suoyi Guards have been searching for him all over western Liaoning and northern Zhili for the past two years, but they have never been able to find him. Unexpectedly, he was hidden by Zhang Chun.

"Zhang Chun, this old fox, is hiding really well!"

As he spoke, Qiao Yiqi had already begun directing the artillery fire. Behind the battlements of Yongding Gate, the Kaiyuan artillerymen and the Shenjiying battalion were loading their shells. Laborers were busy carrying iron balls and gunpowder to the top of the city walls, and the sound of bamboo whistles filled the air. The twelve-pound field guns on the city walls raised their muzzles, shifting their target from the moving crowd to the newly appeared enemy artillery.

Thanks to the workshop's in-depth processing of the gun barrel, the accuracy of field artillery firing has been improved to a higher level compared to the Red Cannon, making confrontations between artillery pieces possible.

The cannon fodder approached the moat, but instead of stopping, they began to build a pontoon bridge across the moat. In order to attract the rebels to attack the city, the Kaiyuan army did not implement the strategy of building strong defenses and clearing the fields. Liu Zhaosun was unable to burn down every forest around the capital, so the rebels were able to obtain sufficient wood under the city to make siege equipment such as shield carts, ladders, and pontoon bridges.

Following the order from Military Inspector Qiao, hundreds of French cannons and general cannons on the city walls opened fire, targeting the people who were building a pontoon bridge on the other side of the moat. The shells were as dense as raindrops, pouring down on the heads of the cannon fodder.

Amidst the earth-shaking roar, the Yongdingmen city wall shook slightly. Qiao Yiqi felt that the bricks and stones under his feet could collapse and shatter at any time. This section of the city wall was completely submerged in the white barrage. Qiao Yiqi coughed violently and was eager to know the effect of the shelling.

"General Qiao used his military prowess with extraordinary skill, defeating the enemy with a single cannon shot. I admire you!"

Huang Youlun, the instructor who was mobilizing and encouraging the artillerymen, looked at the white smoke and clapped his hands in praise.

"Where were the bandits defeated? Where? Why didn't I see them?"

Qiao Yiqi stretched his neck out of the battlement, staring at the white barrage of bullets and looking around. He was about to turn around and ask Huang Youlun to borrow a telescope when suddenly a cold arrow whizzed over the top of the city wall and flew past Qiao Yiqi's scalp.

Two soldiers immediately stepped forward and pulled General Qiao back. A row of musketeers raised their muskets and fired indiscriminately in the direction where the arrows came from, heading towards the city.

"Let me go! I am the military supervisor and must be as immovable as a mountain! Let me go!"

Everyone was just recovering from their shock and was wondering where the arrow came from. You must know that the rebels were still on the other side of the moat at this time and it was impossible for them to shoot arrows from under the city.

Qiao Yiqi pushed away the two soldiers who were supporting him, furious. At this time, Zhang Dong hurried over with several straw raincoat guards and whispered to Supervisor Qiao:
"The spies in the city are desperate and ready to take action. Does the Protector of the Country know this?"

Qiao Yiqi said calmly, "Everything is under the control of the Duke of Protectorate. Don't worry. He has already arranged for Officer Yang and others to deal with the spies!"

"Get out of the way quickly and don't delay me from doing my job."

After Qiao Yiqi finished speaking, he ignored Zhang Dong and turned his attention back to the artillery in front of him.

At this time, the three rounds of artillery fire ended, and the cannon fodder who had been excited just now finally calmed down. No one shouted anymore to cross the river to capture and kill Liu the thief. Hundreds of mutilated corpses were left by the moat. Some of the injured but not dead cannon fodder rolled and wailed by the river, and rolled into the muddy and difficult moat.

"Don't retreat, keep charging! Once you cross the river, you win!"

Zhang Chun's servants hid behind the shield carts and screamed hysterically. They brandished their spears and stabbed, and suddenly a spear was fired from the shield carts, killing the civilians who tried to retreat.

Some servants used bows to shoot at the fleeing people. This group of supervisors soon attracted the attention of Qiao Yiqi. The unmovable Qiao Yiqi immediately ordered the use of heavy artillery to carry out covering fire on the enemies behind the shield carts.

The long-silent Red Cannon and twelve-pounder field guns finally unleashed their might. Like raging beasts, they roared and hurled heavy iron balls into the air, smashing into the other side of the moat, riddling the heavy, unwieldy shield carts. The tumbling iron balls plowed bloody grooves through the ranks of servants, and the flying wood chips caused secondary damage to these poor men. Over twenty servants were killed on the spot in the first round of bombardment.

Before the servants could react, the second round of artillery fire came like a torrential rain.

Familiar recipe, familiar taste, familiar picture.

Most of Zhang Chun's servants came from their ancestral home in western Liaoning. Such a terrifying bombardment undoubtedly evoked distant and terrifying memories in them, like uncovering the scars of these poor men, making them feel the fear of death. "Run!"

At this time, the supervision team had no time to supervise the battle. Everyone screamed and fled backwards, just wanting to escape from the range of the artillery on the city wall as soon as possible and escape to a safe distance in the rear.

The rebels' first round of attack ended in this abrupt manner.

Liu Zhaosun looked at the cannon fodder fleeing and began to wonder what tactics Zhang Chun would use in the next round of attack. What was certain was that it would not be the ant-like siege.

The capital city is high and the moat is deep. Without internal support and siege equipment, it is impossible to capture it without the death of tens of thousands of people.

The group of people in front of him were just a mob, and Zhang Chun's prestige was really limited, so he couldn't afford too many casualties.

This rebellion in the second year of Tianqi was the last crisis Liu Zhaosun encountered since he traveled through time. Of course, it was just a crisis.

In the Yongdingmen city wall, the musketeers from the 14th Guards Army have completed their assembly. This musketeer unit of less than a thousand people is responsible for long-range firepower output and is the key force in defending the Yongdingmen.

Behind the musketeers, a thousand spearmen also gathered and stood by. They were the last line of defense of Yongding Gate. By the time the spearmen started fighting, it was basically certain that the outer city of the capital would soon be captured by the rebels.

~~~
On Chaotianmen Street, Yang Tong, the chief officer of the pacification troops, put away the terrifying iron hook and led a team of pacification troops quietly into a T-shaped alley.

After passing several alleys, the group arrived at a remote and quiet courtyard.

A big yellow dog tied at the entrance of the alley was about to bark when the pacification soldier walking in front pulled out a short crossbow from his arms and shot out two poisonous arrows. The yellow dog fell to the ground with foam at the mouth.

"Keep your eyes open. This is a big fish. Zhang Dong and the others just tortured him out. Lao Ma gave out this location. This is just following the clues."

After Yang Tong introduced his clues to his men, he winked at the pacification soldiers in front, and two thin men stepped forward and knocked on the gate.

Bang bang bang!
After a while, there came the creaking sound of a door opening and the clanging sound of weapons colliding from the courtyard room.

Yang Tong had been in the army for a long time and was quite familiar with the sound of swords and spears. He quickly made a gesture, indicating to the pacification soldiers lying in ambush on both sides of the courtyard gate to prepare for battle.

There were heavy footsteps in the courtyard, followed by a man's shouting.

"Who?"

Yang Tong replied in a muffled voice:
"He was introduced by Lao Ma, a leather seller!"

"I don't know you, you've come to the wrong place!"

Yang Tong smacked his lips and didn't give up:
"Lao Ma! Lao Ma, the one who works as a wheel hammer in the workshop. I'm his brother, and I'm from Jinzhou."

The yard became silent again. The other party hesitated for a while, and then the gate suddenly creaked open, and a ferocious face appeared from behind the door.

The Millennium Pacification Soldier took out his badge and waved it in front of the face:
"We are pacification soldiers, conducting a routine inspection. Have you spotted any unfamiliar faces today?"

The other party touched his forehead, glanced quickly behind him, and said impatiently:
"Comrades, this is a chaotic time with fires everywhere. I haven't been out and haven't paid any attention. I've paid my dues. If you have nothing else, please..."

After saying that, he closed the gate. Yang Tong stepped forward and used his foot to block the gate that was about to close.

"From your accent, you don't sound like you're from Beijing. You look unfamiliar. Are you new here?"

The vicious man forced a smile and said, "What are you talking about? I've lived here since last year and don't like to move around. It's normal for you to feel unfamiliar..."

"Open the door and take a look."

The other person's expression suddenly changed, and he smiled at Yang Tong and said, "Okay, okay. Please come in."

He pushed the door with his left hand and suddenly exerted force with his right hand.

"Get out of the way!"

Yang Tong quickly retracted his neck, and two short arrows whizzed past his cheeks and hit a pacification soldier behind him. The pacification soldier was hit in the left shoulder and fell to the ground with a groan.

"Caught alive!"

Yang Tong roared, pulled out an iron hook from under his empty left sleeve, and swung it at the other party.

When the big man saw that Yang Tong had no weapons and only one arm, he relaxed his vigilance against Yang Tong. He didn't expect that there were iron hooks on the arms of the people.

He couldn't dodge in time, and the iron hook cut through his chin from bottom to top, leaving a big gash on his cheek.

"what!"

The big man howled, pulled out a dagger from his waist, and slashed at Yang Tong's neck with pain.

Yang Tong did not give him any chance to fight back. He kicked the man in the heart and kicked him into the courtyard. More than a dozen pacification soldiers immediately rushed up and hacked the man to death with their swords.

Everyone was stunned. In the garden behind the gate, there were several corpses lying in a mess, all wearing the uniforms of the Kaiyuan Pacification Army.

"Two people guard the gate, two go to the back door, and the rest of you follow me into the house to search! Change into short knives and short guns, and follow me in to search. If you find anyone, kill them without mercy!"

After Yang Tong finished speaking, he pulled out a pistol from his waist and began to skillfully load the ammunition while walking.

(End of this chapter)