Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 755
The sound of rumbling cannons spread into the city, heralding the official start of the battle to attack Nanjing City.

Nearly a thousand people under house arrest in the academy were in an uproar. Some were excited, while others were full of panic.

They were arrested by the Qing army, and no one knows what their fate is. Maybe Boluo saw that the situation was not good, and in order to completely eliminate hidden dangers, or with the mentality of killing them all, it is very possible. .

It was He Wangsheng who was talking to Qian Qianyi, and he and Qian Qianyi were the leading figures of the Jiangnan gentry in Fuming.

Qian Qianyi saw that his face was full of joy, but his face sank, "Brother Zhou Qian, you have to get out your ideas. Only you and I know the generals who instigated the rebellion. We are also greedy for merit and have not communicated with the Heaven and Earth Society. Now Trapped here, but there's nothing I can do to help."

The Jiangnan gentry, as a force that once controlled the Ming Dynasty, although because of the fall of the Hongguang Dynasty, the Donglin Party was wiped out, lost political asylum, and became a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, but the Jiangnan gentry has developed for more than 200 years after all. Camels are bigger than horses, but still powerful.

When they participated in the struggle for restoration of the Ming Dynasty, they inevitably hoped to regain power, so in many matters, they kept a certain distance from the Tiandihui and were unwilling to become subordinates.

Most of the Tiandihui came from the lower classes and were unable to enter the upper echelons of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. However, the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River had no contacts, and their relationships were intricate. No cooperation was formed, and before the Ming army attacked the city, they were put under house arrest by Boluo in the school.

He Wangsheng heard this, and turned his head to look at the Qing soldiers guarding outside, with a look of embarrassment on his face, "I'm afraid I can't get out without help from outsiders!"

Outside the city, the artillery formations on Zijin Mountain, Shihui Mountain, and west of the city opened fire one after another. The rumbling sound of the artillery complemented each other, making the whole of Nanjing tremble.

There are thirteen city gates in the inner city of Nanjing, and not all of them are suitable for attacking. For example, outside the Shicheng Gate is Mochou Lake, and the infantry cannot be deployed. The Ming army attacking from the west chose the Sanshan Gate.

At this time, the artillery team was making deafening cannon sounds, the sound of the cannons was like thunder in summer drought, thick white smoke covered the long artillery positions, white smoke rose from each artillery, and the gun carriages retreated, More than ten catties of iron bullets hit the city wall all over the city wall, dust was flying on the city wall, countless gravels were splashed up, and then fell into the Qinhuai River with a splash, causing dense water splashes.

In the formation of the Ming army, the horses in front neighed for a while, and the horseshoes moved the turf, looking very restless.

The prisoners of the green battalion in front of the formation were terrified. Nearly a hundred red cannons bombarded the city wall. This kind of momentum caused fluctuations in these prisoners. Many people were glad that they were not in the city.

Before the battle, Zhou Fangrong and Xu Kaicheng's hearts were beating wildly. The army was lined up two miles away, and they could feel the city wall being shaken by the bombardment.

These two men were originally the commander-in-chief of the Qing army, but one made meritorious service for taking a big victory, and the other contributed to Jiangdong Gate and Jiangdong Bridge, which can be regarded as a meritorious service. He was promoted to a general by the front line.

At this time, the artillery was firing continuously, and the smoke filled the air. The soldiers in front of the formation were like heavenly soldiers flying through the clouds. The noses of the soldiers were filled with pungent gunpowder smoke, and the barrels of the red cannons were already dark red.

After fighting for half an hour, the artillery array fell silent. The artillery was already hot and needed to be cooled. The soldiers could only hear the sound of the bricks and stones on the Nanjing city wall collapsing, as well as the screams and panic of the Qing army above the city.

Zhou Fangrong swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "Siege weapon!"

Xu Kaixiang asked for a water bag from his personal guards, took a sip, licked his lips, and said to Zhou Fangrong: "This bombing method, no matter how strong Nanjing is, the city wall will collapse within ten days."

"When shall we go?" Zhou Fangrong asked casually when he saw that the artillery stopped.

"I guess it will take a while!" Seeing that the artillery team was trying to cool down the artillery, Xu Kaicheng said, "We will wait for His Highness's order. The longer the artillery fires, the less our losses will be."

The two were talking, when a chess and card official galloped over and said, "Two generals, the feudal lord is calling for a meeting!"

Hearing this, they didn't dare to be negligent, and hurriedly got their horses brought in, flew on them, and galloped towards the central army.

In the Chinese army, many generals have come around Wang Yan to listen to him make the final deployment before the siege.

As soon as the two green battalion generals arrived, the artillery team, which had stopped for a while, roared again. More than 70 artillery pieces fired at the city wall again, causing many generals to turn their heads and look at Nanjing City.

Wang Yan saw that everyone had arrived, so he said loudly: "Don't even look at it, it's not a short-term thing to want to break down the city wall."

After everyone heard this, they hurriedly turned their heads back, and listened to Wang Yan's instructions.

Wang Yan glanced at the crowd, his eyes fell on the two generals of the green battalion, and then he continued: "Although this siege is intended to be a test, everyone must go all out to give this domain an aura and strive for a victory. Let’s fight! The tasks of the other ministries have been explained by this domain, and now the key is the former army! Generals Zhou and Xu, come forward!”

Hearing the words, the two glanced at each other, and hurriedly stepped forward, cupped their fists and bowed, "The last general is here!"

Wang Yan went on to say: "Nanjing is surrounded by dragons and tigers. This Qinhuai River is the dragon wrapped around Nanjing's waist. It can't be filled. You can only build the pontoon bridge. You two lead 1 horses. After the bombardment is over, build the bridge first, it must be strong enough, wide enough, and the siege equipment must be able to pass through, and when the pontoon bridge is built, your troops will go directly to the city and attack the city wall, understand?"

"The end will be known!" The two took orders.

Wang Yan nodded, but saw that the two of them had no confidence, so he said: "You two can tell the deployment, this domain has clear rewards and punishments, as long as you fight hard and make achievements for Ming, you can wash off your status as a surrendered army."

Wang Yan paused for a while, turned his head, and suddenly asked Chen Bangyan: "Yanye, are the words of this fan too false?"

Chen Bangyan was about to speak, but Wang Yan turned his head back again, and continued: "Let's put it this way, beheading one head will remove the identity of the surrendered army, and beheading two heads will follow the Ming army's practice. Come to offer rewards, what this domain has is silver and titles, it depends on whether you can earn it."

Zhou Fangrong and Xu Kaicheng were overjoyed when they heard the words, and immediately bowed their heads, "Don't worry, Your Highness, we will do our best to wait!"

"Okay!" Wang Yan exclaimed, then waved his hands and said: "Go back and prepare, and follow the military orders of this vassal!"

All the generals clasped their fists together, their faces were full of awe, and after making a promise, they got on their horses and ran back to the headquarters.

The city wall is now full of gunpowder smoke.

He was in charge of the defense of the west city, wearing a red flag and guarding the mountain forehead with real gold. He was wearing a red armor and was guarded by several soldiers. Move up the city wall.

Wengcheng, where the artillery was focused on, was in a mess at this time. A Qing soldier, dragging a wounded commander, moved slowly on the city. The place was filled with gunpowder smoke, gravel, and screams everywhere. call.

Jin Li led a group of soldiers. During the walk, he saw wounded soldiers crying all over the ground. He was afraid of affecting morale, so he immediately waved his hand and said to the guards beside him, "You guys, carry them down."

After finishing speaking, he continued to walk forward, but a soldier suddenly threw him down, an iron bullet flew over their heads, and hit the tower, dust and rubble fell down.

Jin Li pushed the soldier away, stood up and patted the dust, but the Qing general next to him exclaimed again: "Gushan, the front of the Ming army has moved."

Jin Li hurriedly walked to the edge of the city wall, looked out, and saw that the former army of the Ming army was rushing towards him like a torrent breaking a dike, and he gritted his teeth and said, "I'm going to give this general a headache!"

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(End of this chapter)