Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 880 From Nanjing
A total of 8 Ming troops attacked Yangzhou, besieging Yangzhou on three sides, leaving only Beicheng.

After more than a month, the canal has been dug to the bottom of the city, and it will be connected to the moat in three or two days, but the high slope outside the west city has not yet been captured.

In the tent of the commander-in-chief of the Ming army, Liu Shun held the helmet in one hand, opened the curtain angrily, and poured into the tent with a group of generals, then threw the helmet on the table angrily, cursing: "Zhang Youde, if you press down If it is more aggressive, Shizhai will be taken down today."

Zhang Youde, who followed behind, had a face full of innocence, and he almost went to Shizhai just now, but at the critical moment, the Qing soldiers from the West City rushed out of the city, disrupting their attack rhythm, and the Ming army was taken away by the Qing army. Rolled down the slope.

Gao Po had already attacked several times, but they were all unsuccessful. Seeing that the canal was about to pass through, but Shizhai hadn't been captured yet, Liu Shun was naturally a little anxious. Zhang Youde understood it very well and didn't refute it. in his seat.

Chen Bangyan was more anxious than everyone else, but his face was very calm, "Don't be impatient, generals. If you can attack Shizhai once, you can attack the second time. With today's experience, the next attack will be easier." A lot."

After hearing this, Liu Shun felt ashamed, got up and said: "Ministry, all my colleagues, I was the one to be rude."

Chen Bangyan nodded and asked Liu Shun to sit down, "The canal will soon connect to the moat, and then the warships will be able to go directly to the city, but before that, the army must first capture the stone village outside the west city, and then set up artillery Covering the siege. Although Shizhai was not captured today, the generals must have figured out the defense strategy of the Qing army in the past few days of attack. Let's talk about it now so that we can crack it one by one."

It's useless to lose your temper. Liu Shun and others will calm down and think for a while. Before Chen Bangyan calls his name, Liu Shun adjusted his mentality and saluted: "Master, the stone fort outside the west city and the west city of Yangzhou are horns. When attacking from two directions in the north, they will be flanked by artillery fire from the city head and Shizhai. Attacking the slope is equivalent to being attacked from the front and back. Attack."

Chen Bangyan stepped down from the Shuai case, stood by the sand table and looked at it, and couldn't help nodding, "Then how about attacking from the west?"

"Today we are fighting from the west." Liu Shun stepped forward, picked up a bamboo stick and pointed to the west of Shizhai, "Attacking from the west, the artillery on Yangzhou City was blocked by Gao Po, so it really can't threaten our army to attack the village. , but whenever Shizhai was in crisis, Qing army cavalry would come out from the west city or the north city to harass, making it difficult for the army to concentrate on attacking the mountain."

The city of Yangzhou is large, with 8 Qing troops in the city, and only [-] Ming troops attacking the city. If they wanted to besiege the city, their forces would inevitably be scattered, and they would be easily defeated by the Qing troops. Therefore, the Ming army gave up on Beicheng and did not encircle it. On the one hand, the net was opened to prevent the Qing army from fighting trapped beasts, and on the other hand, there was indeed a shortage of troops.

Liu Shun took the bamboo sticks and sighed, "Zhang Youde's troops have already climbed up the stone village today. The cavalry of the Qing army suddenly rushed out from the west gate, went straight down the mountain, then bypassed the hillside and entered the city from the north gate, disrupting the attack on the village. deployment, so it was defeated."

After saying this, Chen Bangyan understood. He stared at the sand table for a while, and suddenly stretched out his hand to Liu Shun, and the latter knowingly handed over the bamboo strips.

Chen Bangyan took it, walked around the sand table, and then pointed to the city gate, "If the Qing army cavalry is blocked in the city, is Liu Guogong confident to take down the stone village?"

Liu Shun was slightly taken aback, not understanding what Chen Bangyan could do to prevent the Qing cavalry from leaving the city, but he nodded immediately, "If there is no interference from the Qing cavalry, we will definitely take down Shizhai!"

After receiving a positive reply, Chen Bangyan used bamboo sticks to draw a few ditches in front of several cities in Yangzhou, "His Royal Highness trapped Zhangzhou with the method of locking the city when he conquered Bamin. We don't need to trap Yangzhou to death, we just need to dig a few ditches Just let the cavalry in the city dare not come out easily."

Back then in Zhangzhou, the Ming army dug ditches and built walls, trapping tens of thousands of Li Chengdong in the city, and then the main force went east to attack Quanzhou and other places. Now the Ming army has 8 people, and the fortifications do not need to be as complicated as in Zhangzhou. The ditch can prevent the Qing army from going out of the city to harass.

"Locking the city, I know this. The amount of the project is not large. In the end, people will dig a few ditches overnight and send some people to guard them. Qingqi will not dare to leave the city rashly." The generals in the tent gathered together, Liu Shunyan The moment before, he was a little annoyed, he shouldn't have thought of it unexpectedly, "This method of the cabinet is feasible, and the general will finally agree!"

After hearing this, all the generals showed joy on their faces.

Seeing this, Chen Bangyan breathed a sigh of relief, and then added: "The canal is already close to the moat, and the generals in charge of guarding it must also be more vigilant to prevent the Qing army from leaving the city to destroy it."

The Ming army could not force the people to fill the river like the Qing army did. Therefore, the key means for the Ming army to attack the city was to penetrate the canal, connect the moat, and let the warships sail under the city. The entire canal has already cost the Ming army more than a month. Time, if the Qing army blows it up at this time and pours water into it, it will be a big trouble.

The person in charge of guarding the canal was Hu Yiqing from the Wuwei Army. He immediately clasped his fists and said, "If a ditch is dug to prevent the Qing army from leaving the city, the pressure on the general guarding the canal will be greatly reduced. The general will ensure that there will be no problems and the canal will be connected smoothly."

"Very good!" Chen Bangyan nodded in satisfaction. "Today, everyone is tired from attacking the village and digging ditches. Now they go back to camp to rest. At night, they will get up again. The four gates will dig ditches and build walls at the same time."

Everyone clasped their fists together and were about to disperse. Zhang Huangyan lifted the curtain and stepped into the tent. He saluted Chen Bangyan and said, "Chen Ge Department, Nanjing sent reinforcements to escort the supplies."

Chen Bangyan was taken aback when he heard the words. He didn't ask for help from the court, nor did he ask for supplies.

"Where are the people? Bring them in!" Chen Bangyan was puzzled, and he waved the generals to retreat, but signaled Liu Shun to stay temporarily.

After a while, two soldiers opened the curtain, and one of them stepped into the tent. Chen Bangyan and others looked at him together. The man was in his 30s, with dark skin and a short beard. He was very strong. He was Wang Yan's bodyguard. , the iron man army commanded Lu Shikui.

"Chen Gebu, Liu Guogong, and Mr. Zhang, under the order of the court, escorted a thousand new guns and a thousand sets of new armour, and rushed to Yangzhou for support." After Lu Shikui came in, he glanced at the people in the tent and recognized them all, and he smiled slightly , saluted and said: "His Royal Highness ordered Xiaozhi to obey the orders of Chen Ge's department when he arrived in Yangzhou. Xiaozhi and his subordinates, Qianerlang, are willing to be dispatched at any time."

The Iron Man Army is Wang Yan's personal guard. Normally, they don't participate in the battle. This time, they just send some supplies. There is no need for the King of Chu to send the Iron Man Army.

"Commander Lu, did something happen to the court?" Chen Bangyan stopped him and asked suddenly.

Lu Shikui looked around and found no one else, so he said: "Report to the cabinet, there is no change in the court, but the Kingdom of Jin may attack Sichuan."

Jin Guo was about to attack Sichuan, the three people in the tent were all taken aback, their faces showing shock.

Chen Bangyan thought quickly, and immediately understood what Wang Yan meant. The court was in a hurry. Cui and the others quickly took down Yangzhou and ended the war in Jiangbei.

At that moment, Chen Bangyan asked Lu Shikui, who had been exhausted all the way, to rest, and then he and Liu Shun went to see the new blunderbuss and new armor.On the way back to the tent, Chen Bangyan stopped suddenly, turned around, looked at Liu Shun, and said seriously: "Liu Duzhen, you and I are both His Highness's confidantes, His Highness has placed high hopes on you and me, we Don't let His Highness down!"

After finishing speaking, Chen Bangyan turned and left, leaving Liu Shun clenched his fists.

(End of this chapter)