Chapter 288 I am the Duke of Liang, and so is Chen Cao
"What? Genshan Gate was lost?"
You Shiwei had just gathered more than 10,000 Yulin troops and marched to Wulin Gate, when he met You Shilu and received this shocking news.
You Shilu nodded: "Hangzhou General Kang led his troops to rebel and captured the Genshan Gate. It is estimated that the city gate has been opened by this time to let the rebels enter the city."
Youshi Weidun felt exhausted. He had fought all night last night. Although his soldiers had been battle-hardened for a long time and were extremely brave, they were now exhausted. And at this critical moment, they even lost the Genshan Gate. Needless to say, the rebels would definitely advance. City.
"Send someone quickly to contact Governor Zhang and ask him to decide whether to stay in Hangzhou or not."
As a guest soldier, You Shiwei could not decide whether to abandon the city of Hangzhou or not. As the largest city in the Ming Dynasty after Nanjing, the decision to stay or leave Hangzhou had to be made by the governor Zhang Yangming. Moreover, both the civil servants and military generals of the Ming Dynasty had As is customary when the land is lost and people are lost, if the city is lost and the official runs away, it is a capital crime, unless there is someone in the court who can protect the people with one hand, but in the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, this situation is impossible.
Therefore, as a guest soldier, You Shiwei had the capital to retreat, but he had to obey Zhang Yangming's orders, and he could not retreat without waiting for Zhang Yangming's order, otherwise he would not be able to shirk the responsibility for the fall of Hangzhou.
Not long after, You Shiwei received news that Zhang Yangming and other high-ranking officials in Zhejiang had been arrested. He suddenly felt that there was no point in holding Hangzhou any longer. However, as the top general of the guest army and a senior official second only to Zhang Yangming, Hangzhou was now leaderless. , he can only take charge of the overall situation.
You Shigong stepped forward and frowned: "Hangzhou can no longer be saved. Zhang Yangming and others have been arrested. As Yulin guest troops, we have no need to defend Hangzhou for the officials of Hangzhou."
Self-preservation is the last word, and You Shilu also nodded in agreement: "Second brother, we have brought 50,000 Yulin veterans, which is the entire force of Yulin. If the entire army is wiped out in this battle, we will never have the face to go back to see the Yulin elders in the future. "
Starting from Suzhou to Hangzhou, the 50,000 people brought by You Shiwei now only have about 35,000 people left. The 15,000 people who were lost in the battle were the elite of Yulin, but the more than 30,000 people Zuo Liangyu really had There are only 15,000 people who can fight. The remaining people are all refugees and young men recruited along the way, or prisoners captured by various counties to serve as soldiers. It is natural to see how effective these people are in fighting.
"Hangzhou needs to hold on for a while, and we can't just leave like this."
This is something You Shiwei thought about for a long time, and then immediately made arrangements: "Lao San, you bring five thousand people mixed with young people and prisoners in Hangzhou to guard Genshan Bridge and all the stone bridges in the north of the city. You must not Let the rebels attack;
Brother, you lead three thousand people to personally guard Wulin Gate. General Zuo and I will lead our troops into the city to see if we can snatch Master Zhang and his party back from the rebels. "
Musket shooting in open areas depends on luck, even in the later era when rifles and rockets were rampant. But in a cramped environment, parallel shooting is simply a one-sided massacre.
The middle section of the city wall of Genshan Gate was originally where Kang led his troops to fight against the retreating You Gongnian troops. After dozens of casualties, both sides formed a tense situation on the middle section of the city wall, with neither side able to take advantage.
Until the Shence Army who entered the city climbed onto the corridor of the city wall and took over the defense of Kang's personal soldiers, the battle situation suddenly changed dramatically.
"Raise the gun..."
"put..."
'Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...'
'Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...'
'Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...'
The wall corridor of Hangzhou City can accommodate a carriage, and eight soldiers can stand side by side. Both sides have erected large shields at the front. However, after the Shence Army took over the defense, all the large shields in the front were removed, and eight soldiers were rotated to fight. Shooting wildly at the Yulin army holding shields directly in front.
After such a close range flat shot, the shields of the Yulin Army on the opposite side could not withstand the lead bullet attack. They only fired four salvos, and all the thick shields burst. The Yulin Army suffered heavy casualties. The Shence Army, under the command of the forward company commander, Start moving forward in parallel.
The Yulin Army's bows and arrows in the rear were unable to function and could only counterattack with spears. Although they caused casualties to the Shence Army, their cost was several times that of the Shence Army.
After more than ten rounds of volleys, the corridors were filled with the corpses of the Yulin Army. Even veterans of hundreds of battles could not fight like this. Under the one-sided massacre by the opponent, the Yulin Army completely collapsed and fled towards the Wulin Gate.
There is now no suspense about the battle on the city wall. The Yulin army's retreat to Wulin Gate means that Genshan Gate, second only to Wulin Gate in the north of Hangzhou City, has completely fallen into Chen Cao's hands.
"We must trap You Shiwei in Hangzhou City no matter what."
After Chen Cao said these words, he stepped into the Zhejiang Governor's Yamen. At this moment, Chen Cao finally saw many old acquaintances inside that he had not seen for several years. However, Chen Cao first bowed to Qi Changguo who was standing beside him. : "For the old general's action, Chen Cao would like to thank the old general for his righteousness on behalf of King Fu."
Qi Changguo did not hesitate, and bowed respectfully to Chen Cao: "The Duke's words are serious."
Zhang Yangming was tied and sitting on a chair. He had previously told Qi Changguo about the righteousness of the monarchy and the country with reason and emotion, but Qi Changguo was unmoved. Then Zhang Yangming became angry and started to curse Qi Changguo. Even the dead Qi Jiguang also Cursed all over.
Little did he know that his sincere pursuit of benevolence would have no effect on a battlefield veteran like Qi Changguo. Not only did he ignore him, but he also stuffed a pair of women's obscene pants from whom he didn't know where he got into his mouth, making Zhang Yangming's stinking Nausea and dizziness.
Chen Cao saw Zhang Yangming babbling and refused to let anyone take off the filthy thing, so he asked about the situation in Hangzhou at the moment.
Qi Xianye walked into the lobby with a knife and saluted Chen Cao after being introduced by Qi Changguo. Chen Cao smiled and patted Qi Xianye on the shoulder: "You Qi family are all good people."
"My lord, we have just received news that tens of thousands of Yulin troops and many town troops are coming from the direction of Wulinmen. Their forwards have many firearms. They beat us so hard that we can't even raise our heads. West Lake Street has been abandoned, and the sergeants have come back to defend. .”
Chen Cao turned to look at Kang Sui: "General Kang, I want to keep You Shiwei in Hangzhou City. How to surround him?"
Kang Shui had been in Hangzhou for a long time and was already familiar with the topography of Hangzhou. He said: "They are expected to attack important places like the Governor's Yamen. The general thought that they could retreat in order to advance and lure them here. Although the Governor's Yamen is in the city, this place is not It was transformed from the imperial city of the former Song Dynasty. The imperial palace of the former Song Dynasty was located in the south of the city. The Yongjinmen Waterway diverted water from the West Lake and came out from Wangjiang Gate. There were eleven stone bridges in the middle. After passing the stone bridge, it was the southern boundary of the city;
To guard the city gates, you need to guard Wangjiang Gate, Houchao Gate and Zhengyang Gate in the south city, and then guard the eleven stone bridges, then you can trap all the Yulin Army in the south of the city where they are patrolling;
In addition, there is a city wall pass on Wansong Ridge in Fenghuang Mountain. This pass is low and only the inspection department is stationed. If the Yulin army jumps over the wall in a hurry, the defense of the city wall pass cannot withstand it. "
Qi Changguo said at this time: "In the future, he will lead his army into the city through the city wall. Although the defense there is low, there is only one feasible road in the mountains and forests, and the uphill road is muddy, making it impossible for cavalry. It is a A place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.”
"So, the Zhengyang Gate in the south of the city is under the greatest pressure." Chen Cao said and immediately looked at the Hangzhou defense map in the governor's office: "Where is the West Lake?"
Kang Shue said: "Master, don't worry, the territory of West Lake includes Qiantang County, if you want to escape from West Lake, you can only escape from Qiantang County, there is no way out;
However, the West Lake water will flow out from the tributaries of the Qiantang River and enter the sea. The tributaries of the Qiantang River can be boated, but the boats must pass through Beixinguan. "
"Dead place..."
Huang Chunyao fanned: "You Shiwei still has thousands of cavalry under his command. They are veterans of Yulin's battles. They will never give up this cavalry. Therefore, the student thought that if the student was You Shiwei, he would be in such a desperate situation. Under this situation, there are only two options. One, fight hard and break through from the south of Zhengyangmen City. The other is, choose to go behind the Chaomen Gate and directly enter the Qiantang River."
"Where are their ships?"
Kang Shui replied: "Stop at Wangjiang Gate. If the stone bridge is blocked, they will not be able to cross the Qiantang River."
Chen Cao thought about it and said: "No, if I were You Shiwei, the Yulin army was mainly infantry. It was already the limit for them to come to Hangzhou by boat. After being surrounded, they would never take a boat to break out. They must have come from Escape by land, and if they break out from the opposite direction from the stone bridge, they will have to face our troops in the north of the city, and from the west city there is the vast West Lake. Therefore, the only direction in which they can break out with a glimmer of hope is Zhengyang Gate in the south of the city;
Only in this way can they enter the hinterland of Zhejiang and then go to Huguang or Jiangxi. "
"It's okay to fight trapped animals," Huang Chunyao also meditated for a long time: "As long as the Zhengyang Gate and Stone Bridge are guarded, everything will be complete."
Chen Cao nodded thoughtfully, and then immediately ordered: "Transmit the order, Wang Xiaojie's troops will be stationed in Qiantang and guard Beixinguan;
In addition, the two divisions of the Shence Army were divided into two, one guarding the stone bridge, and the other immediately detouring from the east of the city to occupy the Zhengyang Gate in the south of the city. "
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The one who came with Zhao Xin was Qi Xianzong who stayed in Shanghai. The interior of Suzhou has been cleared, and the remaining enemies in Huating have been wiped out by Hong Chengchou. Now that Songjiang has stabilized again, it is enough for Qi Xianyun to stay in Shanghai, so Qi Xianzong personally leads the new The Shanghai garrison was formed to escort the mortars, field artillery, etc. newly built by the arsenal.
There are two divisions in the new Shanghai garrison. Although they are all new recruits, they have been undergoing high-intensity training. This time, Qi Xianzong, as the garrison commander, personally brought a division with him. The main reason was for troop training.
"Old Qi, hurry up. I received a message from Tiqi last night that the Lord has launched a general attack on Hangzhou."
Qi Xianzong nodded, shouted loudly, and then urged the recruits behind him to speed up.
