Chapter 254 Under Suzhou City
"There should be more than 10,000 troops in Suzhou City, so don't worry about fighting."
The Dingwu Army, equipped with war horses, rushed to the gates of Suzhou City in one day if the horse power was accelerated. If it had not been delayed for a long time along the way, it would not have been delayed until the third day.
Chen Cao put away the telescope, then turned to look at Ning Guoxing, who had been promoted to the commander of the artillery division: "How about it, can the new artillery hit it?"
There are only four wheeled breech-loading rifled guns designed by Lin Liangcai and other artillery academies. Even now, they are still absolute treasures. It is accurate to hit the Suzhou city wall from three miles away. The only troublesome thing is It is the quantity of artillery shells. The monthly output of mortar shells, which were the most difficult to manufacture at that time, can now reach 300 rounds.
The shells of the rifled guns are more sophisticated, and the use of ammunition bags is more complicated, so now there are only twenty rounds of shells for the four guns.
Chen Cao used the English word 'P' to represent artillery, and the current rifled gun is named P-1 field gun. The caliber is 105 mm, which is more than ten millimeters larger than the caliber of the Hongyi cannon. , the key point is that it has a long range and is still a blooming bomb.
"They can be beaten down, but they don't dare to fire randomly. The shells are expensive. The general thought that it would be better to use the divine artillery and flower shells to scare them first."
The source of the Shenwu Cannon is an improvement on the Hongyi Cannon. Before Chen Cao had full coverage of the new artillery, it was naturally impossible for Chen Cao to abandon this relatively simple artillery, and the Shenwu Cannon had to make explosive shells. It is much simpler to make than copper-wrapped trigger shells, and the quantity is naturally larger.
"First break the urn city tower to scare them, and then send people to negotiate with them. First, let's see what the people in Suzhou City want."
Now that Chen Cao had given the order, Ning Guoxing quickly ordered him to go down and arrange all the twenty Shenwu cannons carried by the army in front of the two-mile formation.
"Zhuyuan loading..."
"ignition..."
"put..."
'Dong dong dong...'
Not to mention twenty, ten Shenwu cannon shells all hit the urn city tower. It was like hitting a peach with your eyes closed. After a round of artillery salvo, the urn city tower suddenly turned into a pile of dust...
Within the telescope, Chen Cao clearly saw a panic on the city wall. It was obvious that the general under their command must have been blown up on the tower of the urn.
In Suzhou City, the prefect Yu Xianchao ran into the governor's office in panic. After Yang Weizhi learned that Chen Cao's army had entered Suzhou, he used the governor's office as the command center and took over the power of Suzhou as governor.
"Are you worried?"
Yu Xianchao looked trembling as if he was extremely frightened: "Master Futai, it's... a big thing... it's not good... it's a big thing... it's not going well..."
Before Xianchao could finish his sentence, a soldier quickly ran into the lobby and spoke first: "Master Yang, something has happened. General Li was commanding operations at the Wengcheng Tower and was killed by rebel artillery..."
"What?"
Yang Weizhi stood up instantly. Su Songshen General Li Liang was dead. What would happen to Suzhou's defense?
"Quickly find someone to take his place and continue to command the operations. The rebels will soon attack the city..."
The soldier's face was troubled: "Back to your lord, the two guerrilla generals went out to lead the troops but no news came back. General Li and the remaining three captains and six guards were on guard at the Wengcheng Tower to watch the enemy's situation, but they were...
All dead..."
"What?"
Yang Weizhi's head was already pounding. All the town soldiers and leading troops were wiped out. Who would command the remaining thousands of town soldiers? "Who else is there?"
"There are only a dozen bosses left and there is a thousand bosses."
"Pass this official order, and order Chief Qian to temporarily lead the town troops to guard the city."
"yes..."
If Chen Cao had known that Ning Guoxing's round of artillery had killed General Su Song and other generals, he would have ordered the entire army to attack the city.
It's just that although I have spies in Suzhou City, they don't dare to leave the city at will when Suzhou is under martial law.
It's really child's play to let a Qian General be ordered to command the remaining three thousand soldiers in a critical situation.
"Master, why don't we order an attack..."
Chen Cao was naturally unwilling to send people to hold any talks. He remembered that when Chengzu raised his army in Shandong, he was scolded backhand for trying to persuade Sheng Yong to surrender. A huge portrait of Emperor Taizu hanging on the top of Dezhou city actually made Chengzu's The artillery unit was trapped on the front line outside Dezhou City for several months.
The Suzhou city in front of us is not small, and it is only ten miles away from Taihu Lake. Taihu Lake passes through the city, and there is a water gate. The east gate is close to Yangcheng Lake. Suzhou has more water gates than Hangzhou, and Wujiang River passes through the city. Passing through the city.
If you want to break Suzhou, it seems that the only choice is Ding'anmen.
"Um..."
Chen Cao groaned, and then thought for a moment. If he could not capture the entire Suzhou Prefecture in a short time, reinforcements from the nearby Nanjing could arrive within seven days at the earliest. By then, they might have a fight with Xu Hongji who led the troops. The market is not certain either.
At this time, Chen Cao made up his mind and said: "Send the order to bombard Suzhou City and cover the engineers to blow up the city gates and walls."
Tang Yannian became energetic after hearing this and said to Song Che: "General Song, I'm going first..."
Song Che did not need to compete with Tang Yannian for credit. As the deputy commander-in-chief of the Dingwu Army, Tang Yannian's meritorious service meant that Song Che also had merit. Besides, Song Che could also command Tang Yannian, so it was better to let Tang Yannian do the work.
"Zhuyuan loading..."
"ignition..."
"put..."
'Dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...'
'Dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...'
'Dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...'
Twenty Shenwu cannons were fired in the second round, and the shells flew towards Ding'an Gate like raindrops. The already destroyed Ding'an Gate was riddled with holes, and the defenders on the city suffered numerous casualties. ..
After the shelling started, Yang Weizhi, who was in the governor's office, felt the ground shaking. Even the teacup on the coffee table shook with the shelling.
Not long after, the messenger rushed over in a panic: "Mr. Yang, the rebels are attacking fiercely, and Ding'anmen may not be able to be defended."
"Dong..."
After a loud noise, Yang Weizhi clearly felt his feet shaking.
Officials at all levels in the hall shouted "earthquake" and ran around. Even Yang Weizhi was helped out of the hall by his own soldiers. A big earthquake was an earthquake. If the hall collapsed, they would all be crushed to death. In the lobby.
A general covered in blood ran into the governor's office in panic: "Sir...Sir...it's a disaster...it's a disaster..."
"Governor Yang is here, please tell me, what's going on?" The soldiers stopped in front of Yang Weizhi.
Mr. Jiang coughed twice: "I don't know what means the rebels used to blow up the city gate of Ding'anmen and the city wall on the left. Our army was defeated by the rebel artillery and all retreated to the inner city. Wengcheng was lost... "
Yang Weizhi felt that the world was spinning. Even the most defensive barbican city was lost. How could the inner city be defended? Moreover, the inner city wall is not as high as the Wengcheng. As long as a ladder is mounted, Suzhou City...
Suzhou Fucheng is governed by two counties, three cities and three places. Wu County and Changzhou County are to the north and east respectively, surrounding Suzhou City. As long as the Fucheng falls, you can enter from the north gate and east gate of the inner city. Wuxian and Cheung Chau.
As the governor, Yang Weizhi had the responsibility to defend the territory. When he heard that Wengcheng had fallen, he fainted.
Inside the thousand-mile tube, there was no longer a soldier on the city wall. The Dingwu Army rushed into Suzhou City in company units. Chen Cao breathed a sigh of relief. In his heart, he felt quite emotional that he had made so many preparations over the years. The Dingwu Army After accumulating experience in several battles, he was not disappointed.
"Shi Xiu, let's go into the city..."
After the city was broken, the defenders no longer had the will to fight. They were bombarded by artillery and had no will to resist. After the Dingwu army entered the city, they killed dozens of people one after another. The entire defenders knelt down and begged to surrender.
Chen Cao rode his horse through the streets of Ding'anmen under the protection of his personal guards. Surrendered soldiers were kneeling on both sides. This feeling was really refreshing.
"Report..."
The messenger came on horseback: "The governor of Suzhou and other officials have withdrawn to Wu County."
The capital city of Suzhou has been captured. Wu County and Changzhou County are like dowry. The inner city wall can be climbed by cavalry standing on their horses. It can be said that there is no danger to defend.
"The second division is ordered to surround Wu County from the flanks. No one can escape. If those officials want to commit suicide or something, just let them do it. As for those who surrender, just accept them all;
In addition, the third division went to clean up the defenders of Changzhou County, and the various divisions of the first division dispersed in the city, arresting officials at all levels as well as wealthy gentry and wealthy households according to the spy list. "
"yes..."
In the huge city of Suzhou, from the early morning when they entered the city to the evening, the various departments of the Dingwu Army, with the cooperation of the Jinyi Guards, 'invited' all the corresponding personnel on the list to the original governor's office.
Zhao Xin quickly walked into the lobby: "My lord, the city of Wu County was destroyed. Governor Yang Weizhi committed suicide. The prefect Yu Xianchao was captured alive by our army. The remaining arrested officials at all levels totaled 317 people. The number of surrenders was very heavy, only two Seventeen people refused to surrender.”
"Did you scold me?"
Xin Zhao chuckled: "Master, do you want to hear it?"
"Tell me?"
Zhao Xin rubbed his head: "They call you a traitor and a traitor to the country, and everyone will punish you..."
"Same old thing..."
Chen Cao didn't care what these pedantic scholars did, but he did care about the Fushe people in Suzhou.
Huang Chunyao quickly walked into the lobby without thinking, "Master, good news, Zhang Pu, the leader of the restoration society, has been captured alive..."
"Lock him up first and leave him alone for three days..."
The order that came immediately after was that all Changzhou County towns should be cleared, and nearly 20,000 surrendered soldiers, as well as hundreds of wealthy gentry and wealthy households in Suzhou City, as well as Suzhou-born officials who had become officials.
The next day, news came from the Longwu Army in the Tang Dynasty that Jiading had been successfully captured, more than 50 officers and soldiers below the guerrilla level were captured alive, and more than 2,000 defenders were forced to surrender.
"Send an order to Tang Kainian to clear out Zhenhaiwei and other places along Taicang Prefecture. After taking Changshu, all the guard posts along the coast must also be cleared out. No one can be left behind."
"In addition, all the officers from the inspection departments and towns and townships around Taihu Lake will be escorted to Suzhou City, and all units of the Third Division will be ordered to go north to help defend Xushuguan. If there are soldiers from Changzhou Prefecture going south, they must be wiped out."
