A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 402 Internal Response
"What a bloody dusk."

Today's bloody offensive and defensive battle in Luoyang has come to an end. Wu Zhengchun saw through the binoculars that all the intruders who attacked Ximen had retreated to the edge of Xiguan, leaving only countless broken corpses and destroyed buildings between Xiguan and Ximen. instrument.

Especially the thirty-step narrow circle from the city wall to the sheep and horse wall is full of corpses, bloody red flesh and blood everywhere, and the smell of blood in the air can't be eliminated no matter what.

The top of the city is also full of cold and stiff corpses. Although many corpses of the invaders were thrown out of the city, there are still many of them left on the top of the city, with blood and internal organs everywhere. After condensing into ice, there is a danger of slipping if you accidentally step on it.

"These bloodstains may be left on the city wall forever."

Wu Zhengchun was thinking in his heart while patrolling the city.

He was surrounded by busy Luoyang officers and soldiers, and soldiers from the village brave society.They were all happily cleaning up the battlefield, packing up weapons, banners and other things, and cutting off the heads of the corpses one by one. At the same time, everyone was talking happily, with such a rich record today, they don't know how much reward they will get.

According to Wang Dou's confession, Wu Zhengchun was willing to share the beheaded heads with Yang Shoubei's subordinates and the Xicheng soldiers, which made them overjoyed. Today's battle will be profitable for everyone.They were busy, while the Shunxiang Army under Wu Zhengchun's command were resting leisurely by the fire in the nest shop.

The officers, soldiers and village warriors at the head of the city took it for granted that they were sitting and having fun swaggeringly.Of course, when these officers and soldiers searched for the corpses, they secretly put the gold and silver and other things inside into their pockets. When the Shun Township soldiers saw it, they just smiled lightly.

Now for gold and silver, the Shun Township Army, whether it is a recruit or a veteran, whether it is an officer or a soldier, looks down on it.

Their military exploits will be recorded by the Shangguan and the township officials in the army, and when they return to the East Road in the future, they will have corresponding rewards such as silver rewards and farmland property.With the depreciation of gold and silver currencies, even the new soldiers hope to receive rewards such as acres of land in the future and pass them on to future generations. Few people want silver.

Busy Xicheng soldiers and civilians filled the city and outside the city, not only on the top of the city, but also inside the sheep and horse walls outside the city, outside the sheep and horse walls, and even the battlefield on the side of the earthen platform.The ring stones were collected and brought back, and the ladders, trench bridges and other objects were chopped into pieces and dragged back to the city for firewood. The heads of the invaders under the city were also collected.

Many people vomited while cleaning up.

Compared with the top of the city, the death conditions of many of the corpses of the intruders below are too miserable. Not to mention the corpses scattered by the artillery, it is the corpses of the intruders below who were smashed to death by rolling wood and stones, and burned to death by cupping pots and other objects. It's all unbearable to see, anyone who sees these bloody, or black as coke, will feel uncomfortable in the stomach.

The artillery discarded by the invaders on the various earth platforms was also dragged back to the city.

It turned out that the Chuangjun deployed more than 100 cannons two hundred steps away from the west gate. After the Chuangjun who attacked the city fled, these artillery pieces were left behind.The gunners of the Folang Machine and Shun Township Army, who fired a catty of cannon, looked down upon them, but Wu Zhengchun and others were still very jealous of the five generals, the Folang Machine Cannon, and others.

The gun mounts of these artillery were basically broken up, but they can be used again after reinstalling the gun mounts, just like the thirty General Fran cannons seized a few days ago.The commander of the Shunxiang Army Artillery Headquarters is determined to win these five general guns, anyway, there is no shortage of gunners in the army.

This time, the defense of the city was a great victory, and Wang Yinchang and Luoyang's defense were also very happy. After the Ximen Chuangjun was defeated, the East Gate and South Gate Chuang troops also retreated one after another.

There was news that although the defenders of the second gate had gained quite a lot, their achievements were far inferior to Ximen's.After the military achievements are reported this time, what awaits Wang Yinchang and Yang Shoubei will be a prosperous future.

Satisfied, the two commanded the defenders to clean up the battlefield. When the sky gradually darkened, the battlefield inside and outside the city was also cleaned.

At this time, both of them and Wu Zhengchun got the news. The news of Ximen's great victory came out, and the whole city rejoiced. Meals and warm clothes will be rewarded.Moreover, King Fu set up a banquet in the palace, and he will personally entertain the officials and military officers who guard the city.

Wang Yinchang was overjoyed, and he smiled at Wu Zhengchun and said: "Mr. Wu Qian, King Fu is hosting a banquet, so let me go with the old man."

Wu Zhengchun bowed his hands and saluted: "The last general is lucky, and the military constitution pleases."

It was getting late at this time, and all the attacking troops retreated to the camp. Only the lights of Dongguan, Nanguan, and Xiguan were slowly lit. Watching the three pass intruders retreat and defend, they were not worried that they would attack again at night.

However, for the sake of caution, when everyone went down to the city, they also set up corresponding night watchmen, lit up lanterns and torches, and if any trespassers attacked and stole the city at night, the police could be sounded immediately.

The people went down the city wall, and in front of the soldiers' cave in the inner wall, the streets of Luoyang were already full of joy. The densely populated Luoyang soldiers and civilians surrounded the densely lit bonfires to keep warm, while chatting and laughing loudly about the war just now.

Sure enough, Wu Zhengchun saw his eldest son Zhu Yousong leading a large number of officials along the street to express their condolences. Obviously, after the news of the great victory came out, Prince Fu's mansion also spent a lot of money, and the rewards were quite sumptuous. There is no pork stew vermicelli.

Big buckets of vermicelli were brought in, and they were steaming, making the soldiers and civilians on the street even more joyful. Everyone laughed and celebrated the victory while eating their fill.

Wu Zhengchun followed Wang Yinchang, and when he reached the intersection, he saw Gao Xun who was assisting to guard the Dongfeng Gate in the south, and Shen Shiqi who was assisting in guarding the Changchun Gate in the east.Seeing their walking posture from a distance, Wu Zhengchun already recognized the two of them.

Gao Xun walked quite calmly, and his demeanor had the feeling of a tree facing the wind, while Shen Shiqi swaggered like a crab, with his head held high and his belly protruding.In the army, both Xie Yike and Gao Shiyin had similar gait.The generals in the army jokingly called the three generals the three crabs.

Seeing Wu Zhengchun, Gao Xun smiled and saluted: "Mr. Wu Qian."

Shen Shiqi glanced at Wu Zhengchun, the flesh on his face trembled, and said a little sourly: "Brother Wu, I heard that you played well in Ximen. It seems that after returning to East Road, the general will promote you."

Wu Zhengchun's black and thin face showed no expression, he just cupped his hands and said, "It's all thanks to the general, the final general dare not boast."

Shen Shiqi snorted, and was about to say something when Gao Xun gasped, "The general is here."

The three looked at it, isn't it?He hurriedly stopped talking and strode up to meet him.

With the sound of horseshoes, they saw Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu striding towards here under the protection of hundreds of cavalry.

In this Luoyang offensive and defensive victory, Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu contributed a lot, and they were the mainstays. King Fu invited the Shunxiang Army and the generals defending the city. As Shangguan, Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu were naturally the key guests.

Wang Dou has three hundred guards, half of them are Lumi musketeers, half of them are sword and shield soldiers. Everyone has tall horses, and they are all veterans brought by Wang Dou from Jingbian Fort and Shunxiang Fort. The combat power is extremely outstanding, led by Xie Yike.

As the leader of the East Road, the founder of this army, Wang Dou's safety affects the hearts and minds of countless people, so the whole army does not allow Wang Dou to go anywhere alone.Wang Dou also attached great importance to his own safety, no matter where he went, the three hundred guards would never leave his side.

After receiving the message from King Fu's envoy, Wang Dou came from Beiguan. Chen Yongfu also brought more than a hundred servants with him, and his son Chen De was by his side.

After jumping off the horse, Wang Dou stopped Gao Xun, Wu Zhengchun, and Shen Shiqi from saluting, and said with a smile, "I heard about the offensive and defensive battle in Luoyang, and you fought very well."

Both Wu Zhengchun and Gao Xun saluted respectfully, saying that they were all due to the general, only Shen Shiqi was complacent, with a complacent expression, and he couldn't close his mouth when he saluted.

Wang Dou helped them up, and said with a smile: "Today you are the protagonists. You can drink to your heart's content when we meet King Fu's banquet, but remember not to get too drunk."

Everyone laughed, and exchanged greetings with Chen Yongfu, Chen De, and Mr. Qian who was guarding the Qianfeng Battalion. Everyone surrounded Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu, and strode towards the eldest son Zhu Yousong.

At this time, the commander-in-chief Wang Shaoyu, the guerrilla Liu Jianyi who defended the east gate, and the guerrilla Luo Tai who defended the south gate also gathered together. They saw that Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu had walked in front of the eldest son Zhu Yousong. Wang Yinchang, Lu Weiqi, former minister of the Ministry of War, and others saw their chatting and laughing happily, and Zhu Yousong was even more affectionate towards Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu.

Looking at the soldiers of Shun Township all over the streets, talking and laughing loudly around the bonfire, the soldiers and civilians of Luoyang passing by all looked at them with reverence. , the people in the city will have a backbone, and Luoyang City has been safe and sound since then.

Liu Jianyi and the others were all envious and jealous, and Luo Tai even scolded: "We fought hard today, our soldiers lost a lot, but Wang Dou and the others stole the limelight."

He and Liu Jianyi looked at each other, and both saw the resentment in each other's eyes.

……

Not to mention how the Fu Wang Zhu Changxun and his son Zhu Yousong entertained the victorious officials and generals in the palace, and how the soldiers and civilians in Luoyang celebrated tonight. The tide-like vigor in Luoyang has disappeared.

In the official office of Xiguan, in the meeting hall, Li Zicheng has been sitting quietly, and all the generals and staff in the hall are silent.

After capturing the three passes of Luoyang, in order to better command the battle, Li Zicheng moved his administrative office to Xiguan. Today, he failed in the siege and suffered heavy losses. fell silent.

After a long time, Li Zicheng sighed: "Could it be that the long-term plan to attack Luoyang is just a dream?"

There was another silence in the hall, Luoyang City is like a copper pea, which cannot be steamed, boiled, pounded, or fried. Compared with the cities of Henan Province that have been drumming down in the past few months, it is really a heaven. , an underground.

Thinking about investing in a bloody battle today, but getting this result, how can we not let everyone feel chilled.What was even more serious was the loss of morale in the army. After the troops retreated at dusk, hungry soldiers and soldiers in each battalion had already fled secretly, and went to find another way of life.

Since Li Zicheng came out of Shangluo Mountain, his momentum has been like a rainbow. In just a few months, he has grown from dozens of cavalry to hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses. Only people join, how can anyone retreat?The strong contrast made him extremely unbearable.Once this deserter appeared, it would shake the morale of the battalions even more. If the battle was unfavorable, more people would flee and fall into a vicious circle.

In fact, after today's defeat, Li Zicheng considered withdrawing his troops, but how easy is it to support hundreds of thousands of soldiers?If we don't take down Luoyang, where will we go to replenish food, grass and equipment?Once the army retreats, with the current morale of the army, it will be the result of defeat like a mountain.

Li Zicheng himself was considering whether to abandon the hundreds of thousands of hungry people and take his old battalion and horse team to the more affluent Kaifeng and Nanyang mansions.It's just that in this way, my plan to attract the heroes of the world to join me and shock the court has come to nothing. After all, the political significance of capturing Luoyang City is unimaginably great, and there is a lot of money and property in it.

I still have a lot of advantages, so I have to try my best to fight for it in the end anyway.

After a long time, Li Zicheng asked Liu Fangliang: "Ming Yuan, you are in charge of attacking Ximen today. My rebel army clearly attacked the city, why did it fail? What is the reason?"

Liu Fangliang stood up and saluted and said, "King Chuang, brothers, my guess is that Wang Dou's subordinates are defending in various sects. Therefore, although they attacked the top of the city, they still failed in the end. We lost so many brothers, please King Chuang punishment."

Li Zicheng shook his head, although today's attack on Luoyang caused many casualties of hungry soldiers and infantry in each battalion, but the lives of these "soldiers" were not in his eyes.What he was concerned about was the reason for the defeat, and whether it was still possible to capture Luoyang City.

He was about to speak when a thunderous voice sounded: "King Chuang, tomorrow I, Lao Liu, will personally lead the army to attack the city, build more equipment, and bring some old battalion brothers there. I don't believe it, this city of Luoyang cannot be defeated." come down."

It was Liu Zongmin who spoke, Li Zicheng stopped, and said: "Jiexuan is like my brother and flesh. If you don't know the situation, how can you let you go into danger lightly? Besides, the old camp is the foundation of our rebel army, so you can't use it when you are idle."

He looked at Liu Fangliang again, and said, "Even if the West City is defended by Wang Dousun's township army, but their strength cannot be large. After all, our rebel army has the upper hand..."

Liu Fangliang said: "King Chuang, Brother Li Guo and I, and Brother Dayong have fought field battles with the Shunxiang army, and we know that they are outstanding in combat power and extremely powerful in fighting on the battlefield. My guess is that they are fighting in formation at the top of the city. Although there are many people, their hand-to-hand combat skills are far inferior to them, so the siege failed."

He pondered for a while, and said: "It is easy to attack the top of the city. It doesn't matter whether you use hungry soldiers, nest carts, watchtowers, goose carts, and many other equipment. However, there are Shunxiang troops on various sections of the city wall. None of these instruments are useful, after all, these siege tools are only used to ascend the city."

"However, fighting at the top of the city is no better than swarming up in the wild. Our rebels are more powerful. On the top of the city, it is like fueling tactics. Our rebel army's superiority in strength cannot be used. Perhaps the brothers in the upper city are not as fast as the Shunxiang army at the top of the city. .So Ximen’s defeat today can be imagined.”

A loud laugh came from Niu Jinxing: "There is a saying in the art of war: the way to use soldiers is to attack the mind first, and attack the city as the bottom. The heart is the top, and the military is the bottom. To be king, you can't fight hard, only outsmart it." .”

Everyone looked at Niu Jinxing, but they saw that he had a confident look: "The city is difficult to attack, and only the righteous soldiers should respond. The two generals Luo Tai and Liu Youyi are devoted to the righteous army and are willing to abandon the dark and turn to the bright. If you want to take Luoyang, you must focus on it." on them."

※※※

Ps: There is another chapter at twelve o'clock in the evening.

(End of this chapter)