Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 980
The Ming army suddenly resumed its attack on Luzhou City from the evening of August [-]th. The soldiers of the Ming army, holding torches, rushed towards the west city of Luzhou overwhelmingly.

Torches spread all over the city, and braziers were lit on the city, illuminating the city wall. The artillery vehicles on both sides also changed from throwing stone bullets to throwing fireballs stained with kerosene. They interweaved in the sky and smashed into each other The front line is full of flames.

On the top of the city, the most elite old battalion troops of the Western Army all went up to defend the city. The archers of the Western Army stood on the city wall, took out the arrows wrapped in cotton cloth, soaked the arrows in the oil tank, and then lit them on the brazier. Qiqi opened his bow and shot down the city.

Nearly ten thousand rockets, like fire raining down from the sky, shot down the city one after another. The wooden boards erected in front of the Ming army's line were filled with countless burning rockets, and the fireballs thrown by the artillery carts in the city hit the city. On the tall well fence, the fireball cracked like fireworks.

Under the city, the artillery of the Ming army roared, and orange flames were continuously sprayed in the darkness. The roar of the artillery and the sound of the guns were intertwined, and the sound went straight to the sky.

To the west of Luzhou City, there is a jaw-droppingly magnificent scene. Ten miles away, people can still faintly hear the roar of tens of thousands of people shouting and killing, and see the flames shooting up to the sky in the direction of Luzhou, like a meteor shower.

Seeing this scene, anyone would think that an unprecedented fierce battle broke out in Luzhou, but in fact, although the momentum is large, the attack may not be violent.

The soldiers of the Ming army mainly hid behind the shield chariot, stood on the tall well fence, and shot at the defenders, but there were relatively few soldiers and horses who approached the city wall with climbing ladders, and all of them paid great attention to protecting themselves and There was no climbing up desperately like the first attack.

The ascending troops suffered the greatest loss in the siege battle. The Ming army sent few ascending troops, so the casualties were naturally less, which avoided excessive consumption. In the confrontation, the Ming army's firearms had the advantage in range , They often shot at the city outside the direct range of the archers of the Qing army, which caused a situation where the Ming gunmen could hit the Western army, but it was difficult for the Western army to hit the Ming army.

It was difficult for the archers of the Western Army to shoot directly at the Ming army. In addition, it was dark and people could not be seen clearly.

Starting from the evening of the [-]th, for several days in succession, the Ming army's offensive did not stop.

On the night of the [-]th, the Mid-Autumn Festival, as night fell, the Ming army's attack was still launched on time.

Sun Kewang boarded the top of the city. Amidst the sound of cannons and shouts of killing, he watched the Ming army's front line at night. When the firecrackers fired, the red light flickered, as if countless fireflies gathered into a belt, twinkling in the dark night, and like a bright galaxy. Like the stars in the sky, twinkling from time to time.

Although it shows that the troops invested by the army are very few to climb the city, the nightly shooting still caused heavy casualties to the Western Army. More than 2000 miscellaneous soldiers were killed almost every day, and the old battalion also lost 800 people.

Looking at the number of casualties, Sun Kewang only felt that the battle was very fierce, and his heart ached. Fortunately, despite the heavy casualties, the Ming army did not climb the city wall.

"Why did He Tengjiao suddenly change his strategy and attack us? What do you think?"

Sun Kewang watched countless torches go up and down below the city, and a group of Ming soldiers hid in the cavern, under the cover of artillery and platoons, slowly approached the city wall, and frowned.

"The truce lasted for nearly a month, and the Ming army suddenly attacked. Something must have happened that forced He Tengjiao to attack us!" Bai Wenxuan thought deeply.

Sun Kewang nodded slightly, and suddenly said with a smile: "That's right, even on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, there was a strong attack, something must have happened. Can any of you tell me a thing or two?"

The generals listened and glanced at each other. Bai Wenxuan had some thoughts in his heart, but Sun Kewang obviously had something to gain, so he clasped his fists together, "Please express it clearly, Your Majesty!"

"In my opinion, there are only two possibilities. One is that Hauge sent troops, and He Tengjiao wanted to break the city before the Jin army came to Luzhou. The other is that Wang Fuchen's attack on the grain road was effective, and He Tengjiao was short of food and grass. So we turned to attack." As Sun Kewang said, his expression became serious, and he looked at the crowd and said: "In these two situations, no matter which one it is, we must ensure that the city is not lost. As long as we defend Luzhou City, we still have a chance. From today onwards, all the soldiers must defend the west city with all their strength, and we must never let the Ming army break through the city, do you understand?"

"The ministers swear to defend the city to the death!" Bai Wenxuan and the other generals clasped their fists together and agreed in unison.

The night attack lasted for four days, and the Ming army had already made a noise, gradually achieving the goal of attracting the attention of the defenders to Xicheng. At the same time, Hauge mistakenly thought that the Ming army was attacking Luzhou and was fighting to the death with Sun Kewang.

He Tengjiao didn't believe Li Dingguo's suggestion before that there was a way to break the city, and he could also count Hauge, but after Li Dingguo cleared up the grain roads and forced the king to surrender, He Tengjiao was persuaded when he talked to He Tengjiao.

Sun Kewang in the city of Luzhou was just a dish, and he was always going to be eaten. Those who came to eat were either the Ming army or the Jin army.

The battle of the Ming army, on the surface, was a confrontation with Sun Kewang, but it was actually a game of chess with the Kingdom of Jin. If there was no Kingdom of Jin watching over him, it would only be a matter of time before the Ming army could defeat Sun Kewang, but with the presence of the Jin army, it would be very difficult to eat .

Therefore, the key to taking Luzhou safely is to ensure that when Luzhou is taken, the Ming army has the ability to deal with the threat of Hauge.

In the early morning of the [-]th, He Tengjiao called all the generals to discuss matters in the big tent, and it was time to decide to implement the plan.

Many generals in the big tent gathered around the sand table in the middle of the big tent. He Tengjiao gestured to Li Dingguo, who immediately stood up, first saluted He Tengjiao, and then bowed his hands to the generals before picking up the wooden stick. Said: "Master, everyone, Luzhou is surrounded by water on three sides, and the Western Army's defense against the North City, East City, and South City is very lax, and our attack these days has further attracted Sun Kewang's attention to the West City. Raiding Nancheng at night created the conditions."

Luzhou is surrounded by water on three sides, so the Western Army didn’t have to worry about it, because the raft had to choose a ferry to cross the river, and use the water force to rush across the center of the river. However, the waterway near Luzhou City is straight, there are no bends, and the raft is difficult to control, and most likely it will be washed away. downstream.

When Wang Yan was crossing the river in Chongqing, he couldn't find a suitable place to cross the river at first, and the team he sent was rushed for more than ten miles.

Because of this, the Western Army did not have to worry about the Ming Army attacking from three sides around the water, and the Ming Army did not think about attacking Nancheng. However, after Wang Fuchen surrendered, the Ming Army obtained ships, so the situation was different.

"How many soldiers and horses can the ships on the Yongding River carry?"

Ma Jinzhong asked, if there are too few ships, it doesn't make sense.

"Don't worry, Madu Town can cross 5000 people at a time, and the sky is gloomy today, and the moonlight must be dim at night. It can be said that the night is dark and windy, which is suitable for a surprise attack." Li Dingguo pointed to Nancheng and said, "If the sneak attack succeeds, these five thousand elites can After entering the city, the main force will attack from the west city, and the city will be destroyed tonight!"

If [-] elite troops could enter the city, with the strength of the troops in the city, there would be immediate chaos, and the destruction of the city would be almost certain.

Many generals nodded when they heard this, but Wang Guangtai said, "What should the Jin army do? These few days of attacking the city, there are Jin army scouts watching the battle. Once the city is broken, Hauge will immediately go south. How should we deal with it? "

"Haoge wants our army and Sun Kewang to lose both sides, but in fact, our siege these days is all bluffing, and there is no force attack to consume, so his calculation may be in vain."

Li Dingguo said with a smile: "As long as we move fast enough, if the Jin army comes uninvited, we have already set up our nets, and an ambush is not a problem!"

"General Li has such a big appetite!" Ma Jinzhong gasped, but then smiled and said: "However, Ma admires it!"

However, Wang Guangtai frowned, "If this is the case, Luzhou will not be able to fight street battles, and the battle must be over before dawn, and Wang Guangen's 1 people must also buy time for us to deploy and rest! After all, the Jin army has the advantage of the horse army. It can be killed in less than a day!"

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(End of this chapter)