The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 416 Battle of Linqing
There was a blazing fire and a lot of noise inside the Weiwu Gate. I wondered what they were barbecuing over there.

In contrast, the Qi army position at Guangjimen in the west was unusually quiet.

Under the cover of night, gun barrels of varying thicknesses slowly extended from the battlements. Hundreds of tiger-crouching cannons and infantry field rifles were aiming at Zuo Liangyu's troops who were surging in like a tide from the opposite side.

In front of the artillery, close to the city wall, there were twelve wolf-tooth hammers, five feet long and four feet wide, nailed with wolf-tooth nails and blades, weighing three hundred pounds. With the hard pulling of hundreds of auxiliary soldiers, they were raised to the position they wanted to go, gathering strength and ready to deal a bloody blow to the Ming army that had presumptuously attacked the city.

Next to the wolf-fang bat, a hundred sword and shield soldiers holding iron owls disappeared in the darkness like ghosts. They just waited for the front-line musketeers to finish their battle and retreat, and the Ming army began to climb the city. Then they would throw down the iron chains and hooks in their hands, hook the enemy's armor, and fish the enemy soldiers climbing the city into the air like fishing, and then slaughter them at will.

The one hundred spearmen standing in the same row as the sword and shield soldiers were holding various specialized weapons for defending the city, including lances, grappling spears, curved-blade spears, forks, and some even held strangely shaped axes.

This strange weapon with a "straight-handled horizontal sword" was mainly used to hook and stab attackers or chop the hands of climbers. When the battle between the attackers and defenders was in full swing, a sudden blow of the axe could usually cut off more than a dozen fingers of the enemy...
The long shield bearers guarding the musketeers now changed their shields to wooden and bamboo shields.

The wooden stand is chest-high and has a crutch (support frame) so that the long hand can free up his hand to attack from behind the shield.

Bamboo stand has better defensive power. It is made of thick bamboo strips woven with cowhide strips and covered with cowhide on the outside. It is particularly strong and difficult to penetrate with a bow.

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The chief of the pheasant (Note 1) was closely monitoring the movements of the Ming army below the city through a narrow and hidden lookout. Lu Yang held the trigger fuse, waiting for the Ming army to enter the mine artillery area.

"I can see clearly that the thief will come up soon!"

Ten Qi army musketeers were standing ready with flintlock muskets in hand. Occasionally, a few archers could be seen. When they encountered scattered enemy troops climbing up the city wall, they would use bows and arrows to shoot them, which was more covert than using muskets.

Under Pu Gang's overall planning, Linqing City has become a monster armed to the teeth.

If it was not for the deliberate purpose of showing weakness to the Ming army and paralyzing the enemy, according to the Kaiyuan army's practice of defending the city, three or four artificial obstacles would be set up outside the moat, including things like caltrops, deer antlers, horse traps, chevaux de frise, etc., mainly to delay the enemy, especially the Ming cavalry, from approaching.

However, if the Qi army really arranged its fortifications in that way, the four Jiangbei battalions on the opposite side would not dare to launch an attack.

As the saying goes, high-end hunters always like to appear as prey.

In fact, this city wall is only the first line of defense in Linqingzhou City’s defense system.

Behind the city wall, the corridor connected to the main city is the focus of the Qi army's defense.

The two thousand spearmen of the Fourteenth Guards Army were now densely packed in formation, and the number of field guns on the main city wall had reached an astonishing eighty. Many of the guns were recently cast in the workshop and were sent into the battlefield before they had time to be tested.

In the next two months, Linqingzhou City was fully prepared for war. All the blacksmiths in the city were hired by the Qi Army Workshop. Under the command of Qi craftsmen, thousands of people worked day and night to build various city defense equipment...

Thanks to the efforts of Pu Gang and his colleagues, this city on the Grand Canal, renowned for its commerce, is gradually being transformed into a fortress. Five hundred Divine Fire Crow rockets have been mounted on the main city walls, providing comprehensive coverage of the city walls. If the enemy forces breach the initial defenses and a large force converges on the city walls, these rockets could collectively incinerate the entire city, creating a scene of human barbecue. Pu Gang declared that his goal was to destroy both sides.

Even if the Ming army could break through these two positions, it would still be difficult to advance after entering the main city. There were more than a thousand pacification soldiers and cavalry deployed in Linqingzhou City, as well as a considerable number of mines and cannons.

There is no doubt that the Kaiyuan Army has a tradition of fighting to the death.

In short, if they wanted to completely occupy Linqing City, Pu Gang and the instructor estimated that at least 30,000 to 40,000 people would die on the other side.

If Zuo Liangyu, Liu Zeqing and Huang Degong wanted to fight to the death, they would accompany them to the end.

~~~~
The inside and outside of the city wall, separated by the Guangji Gate, were like two different worlds. A tide of Ming soldiers crossed the moat, waving torches and weapons, and rushed madly towards the city wall. The bonfire on the opposite city wall had long been extinguished. It was said that the spies in the city had bribed the defenders and deliberately did not light the bonfire.

But no one cares about this now. The real thing is to hurry into the city to rob things. There are tens of thousands of troops behind them. If they are a step late, the silver and the woman will be snatched away by others.

These soldiers and civilians all knew that Linqingzhou City was the only city along the North Grand Canal that had not been destroyed by the plague. In other words, if they couldn't grab anything here, they would starve to death. Who knew when their General Zuo and General Huang would disband these refugees?

"Kill the Qi army and grab the women!"

Captain Guo held a torch in his left hand, waved his sword with his right hand, raised his arms and shouted, and behind him followed two hundred soldiers.

They ran wildly through the mud, and from time to time someone fell to the ground and was trampled by hundreds of feet until their bodies turned into meat patties and were buried in the ground.

It was pitch black all around, and I could only see the outline of Guangji Gate two miles away, like a big, eerie coffin with its mouth open.

"Hurry up, there's no one guarding the city walls anymore, just waiting for us to get in. Don't let General Zuo down! Follow me!"

Because he stayed up all night visiting prostitutes and gambling, General Guo's voice was a little hoarse, but he didn't need to mobilize the soldiers, as they all knew the importance of rushing into the city first.

Everyone rushed to run forward, overtaking Huang Degong's troops next to them. A groom panted and mocked the friendly troops for running too slowly, like women.

He suddenly stepped into a mud pit, fell down, and was immediately submerged by the chaotic crowd.

They usually visit prostitutes, gamble together, carry guns together, and call each other brothers, but at this time, no one cares about the person who fell, because there are countless silver and women waiting for them ahead.

Note:
1. Chi Chang: A minor official responsible for defending and managing fifty battlements and one watchtower. Chi is an ancient measure of a city wall's area, measuring three zhang ( m) long and ten zhang ( m) high. According to Qi Jiguang's requirements, a watchtower was to be built for every fifty battlements, with a Chi Chang assigned to each tower.

(End of this chapter)