He Kegang was still uneasy after hearing this:
"Liu Zhaosun brought hundreds of thousands of troops, and the manpower is completely sufficient."
"Hahaha, so what if it's enough? A rammed earth wall can't be built just by relying on a large number of people. In addition to people, there are many more things needed."
"Take clay. You need to use sticky loess, crush it and sieve it. The mud at the bottom of the field must be fully fermented. If the wall is four feet high and people are going to stand on it, the width of the ground cannot be narrower than two feet. Do the math, Liu Thief How much earth needs to be transported?”
He Kegang was originally the quartermaster under Xiong Tingbi and knew little about the city structure. After hearing Zu Dashou's eloquent words, he didn't say anything more, bowed his hands to him, and left with a few of his men.
In the forty-seventh year of Wanli, after the Liaodong campaign and the death of the country, He Kegang was transferred from Liaoshen and went to Shanhaiguan to serve as a garrison.
As his name suggests, He Kegang is an upright and upright official, which is incompatible with his ancestors who were greedy for money and killed good people for merit.
After the bloody battle in Hunhe, Zu Dashou was promoted and made a fortune, but he was never promoted.
This time when the Kaiyuan Army attacked western Liaoning, He Kegang was transferred to Ningyuan to assist Zu Dashou in defending the city and was placed at the forefront.
He Kegang had no favorable impression of Zu Dashou, nor could he say he disliked him.
However, Marshal Zu regarded He Shoubei as a thorn in his side. If Kaiyuan's army had not conquered western Liaoning, Zu Dashou would have sent him back to the pass this year.
According to original history, after Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned, He Kegang led his troops to garrison Jinzhou and Dalinghe Fortress.
In the fourth year of Chongzhen (1631), the Ming army was trapped in the Daling River by Huang Taiji. General Zu Dashou prepared to surrender to the Qing army, but He Kegang refused to agree and was brutally killed in the end.
History is always full of amazing coincidences. Somehow, the two people met again. The two enemies in the past were now trapped in Ningyuan City at the same time.
The same lonely city is under siege, the same narrow escape, but I don't know who will surrender to the enemy first this time.
Zu Dashou watched He Kegang's back gradually walking down the barbican city, with a trace of hatred in his eyes. He turned around and asked his servants to call Zu Dabi.
Zu Dabi, who looked tired, hurried over and asked his elder brother why he came to see him urgently.
Zu Dashou raised his hand and pointed at He Kegang who was walking far away, and ordered:
"Immediately send a few reliable servants to take a fancy to this person named He. I always feel that he will defect to the original army."
When Zu Dabi heard that He Kegang was rebelling, he immediately said angrily:
"Brother, what are you waiting for? Directly..."
Zu Dashou looked around and motioned to his brother to lower his voice:
"There are still many guest troops in the city at the moment. If He Kegang is killed for no reason, people's hearts will be dispersed. This person is looked down upon by some people in Shanhaiguan, Da Bi. At this time, you can't lose the big because of the small. Keep an eye on him. If there is anything strange, do it again. It’s not too late to take action!”
After hearing this, Zu Dabi nodded repeatedly, secretly admiring Zu Dashou for his prudent work.
The two said a few more words, and Zu Dabi turned around to leave. Suddenly he remembered something, and Shu Zhang's brows wrinkled again.
"Brother, Liu Zhaosun and the others are digging tunnels everywhere like this. Even though the soil is frozen, we still have to take precautions."
Zu Dashou looked down at the city. On the snow-capped snowy fields, thousands of foreign Liao residents were like busy ants, constantly carrying stones and dust out of countless tunnel entrances, working in full swing.
"Don't worry, I'm on guard, but not now. I want Liu Zhaosun to put in more effort, since there are so many others anyway!"
Zu Dashou looked at his younger brother and found some blood on Zu Dabi's face and body.
This was left over from the bloody battle with the Kaiyuan Army yesterday.
He patted his brother on the shoulder and comforted:
"If we fight this battle with Liu Thief again, we will win and our ancestors will be saved. From now on, Liaodong will also be ours. You go prepare first and take care!"
~~~~
In the early morning of March 3rd, Liu Zhaosun got up early.
In front of the moat, a new round of siege by the Kaiyuan Army is about to begin.
Liu Zhaosun asked the guards to help him put on his armor, grabbed a steamed cake on the desk and walked out.
The guard followed closely behind, panting:
"Marquis Ping Liao, the chief officer of the artillery camp sent someone to say that the artillery could not hit the city wall, and the red cannon hit the top of the city, leaving only a few white spots. Zu Dashou also followed our example and sent troops to splash water on the city wall. Today in Liaoning I’m afraid it will be even more difficult for the people to climb into the city.”
Liu Zhaosun nodded and said with a smile:
"Zu Dashou is now learning and applying it, which is good."
"Sir, this is today's battle plan for the Second Guards Army and the Third Guards Army. You haven't signed it yet."
Liu Zhaosun took over the densely packed combat plan and took a quick glance at it. The content was roughly the same as what he had discussed with the two army commanders last night. He took out his bamboo pen and signed his name carefully.
When the messenger guard walked away, he took out the cold steamed cake and stuffed it into his mouth without looking at it.
"Crack!"
Marquis Pingliao covered his mouth with a painful expression.
The surrounding guards immediately raised their shields and protected Marquis Pingliao in the center. They thought there was an assassin attack.
Liu Zhaosun stretched out his hand to push away the crowd, picked up the rock-solid steamed cake on the ground, and couldn't help but complain:
"I hit my teeth, it's harder than a cannon!"
The soldier brought a bowl of steaming mutton soup. Liu Zhaosun took a big sip and hurriedly walked towards the battlefield.
The soldiers chased after him and shouted: "General Liu, please finish eating before leaving."
"Heat it first and drink it at noon."
The guards gathered around Ping Liaohou and came to the moat. The dark Liao people had already begun to cross the river.
Twenty thousand Liao people were approaching the main city of Ningyuan from all directions. The Liao people were pushing huge carts. The carts were equipped with hooks, ladders, ropes and other climbing equipment. Twenty thousand people and horses were mixed together, like a colony of ants moving. .
There was a thick layer of ice on the river, so there was no need to build a pontoon bridge today. The carriages creaked and creaked as they passed by, but the ice surface did not move at all.
Liu Zhaosun once again lamented the power of the Little Glacier climate.
At this time, Deng Changxiong's voice came from behind.
"Marquis Ping Liao came to the battlefield in person and will definitely capture Ningyuan today."
When he looked back, he saw Deng Changxiong and Wang Erhu walking towards him.
The two came to Liu Zhaosun's side and performed a military salute. Liu Zhaosun sat on the grand master's chair and asked the guards to bring two small horses and motioned them to sit down. Deng Changxiong and Wang Erhu looked at each other and neither sat down.
Liu Zhaosun didn't force himself. He stood up from the Grand Master's chair, raised his telescope and looked into the distance, observing the entire battlefield.
The earthen city at the west gate is more than two feet tall, approaching the height of the main city of Ningyuan. Ant-like Liao people are transporting bricks and stones to the bottom of the earthen wall.
"The progress is very fast. It will be completed tonight. There is strength in numbers."
Liu Zhaosun nodded with satisfaction.
The three people's eyes fell on the tunnel on the other side of the moat where earth was being transported out.
"Zu Dashou didn't care about us digging the tunnel. Yesterday he only fired a few shots at the entrance of the tunnel and killed a dozen Liao people. Other than that, he did nothing else."
Deng Changxiong handed the telescope back to Liu Zhaosun and said with confusion on his face.
Liu Zhaosun tightened his gaze and explained his doubts to his subordinates:
"Zu Dashou is just waiting for the best time."
Currently, there are two main methods of hole attack, one is to dig tunnels into the city, and the other is to destroy the city wall. What Kaiyuan Army did was to destroy the city wall.
In fact, it is very difficult to attack the city from the tunnel.
"The tunnel must be very wide to accommodate a large number of soldiers entering the city quickly."
Wang Erhu and Deng Changxiong were busy recording while listening.
"I once heard from my adoptive father that they used this method to defeat the chieftains when they were fighting the rebellion in the southwest."
The method Liu Zhaosun mentioned was to dig all the way to the corner of the wall, keep digging deeper, and at the same time move some strong wooden piles into the tunnel. After removing the soil under the wall base, use these wooden piles to support the top. wall base.
After a section of the city wall was completely hollowed out, the people were evacuated and the wooden piles supporting the foundation of the wall were set on fire, causing the wall to collapse.
Of course, now that we have gunpowder, we don’t have to go through so much trouble. We can just push the coffin filled with gunpowder and sulfur under the city wall and detonate it.
Starting in the afternoon, there was a sudden wind and snow. Outside Ningyuan City, the snow was up to three feet thick. It was difficult for both sides to fire their firearms, making it extremely difficult to attack the city.
Liu Zhaosun ordered the siege to be suspended.
The army's front line moved forward one mile, and the entire army crossed the river one after another and camped next to the city wall. The Chinese army's tent was only 800 steps away from the city wall.
The Ningyuan defenders did not dare to take the initiative to attack. The reinforcements in the direction of Shanhaiguan hesitated and only sent out sentry horses to continue southward for reconnaissance. They were all chased and chased away by Kaiyuan cavalry.
The two sides reached a stalemate.
During the confrontation, the encirclement of Ningyuan gradually shrank, and the living space of the defenders became smaller and smaller.
The auxiliary soldiers cut off the river flowing into the city, and the snowy water in the city could not support it for long.
Liao people were busy building carts and hook ladders.
More artillery was pushed to the moat front.
The tunnels and earthen walls are progressing smoothly.
Behind that precarious earth wall, there was something faintly moving.
When Kaiyuan's army suspended their attack on the city, Ningyuan's defenders were not idle either.
The defenders kept transporting rolling wood and thunder stones to the top of the city, and set up large pots behind the crenels, lit a raging fire, and mixed gold juice and various unknown liquids in the large pots.
After the snow stops, there will be an earth-shattering battle.
The Rocket Army released two waves of divine fire flying crows towards the city, killing and wounding more than a dozen defenders. The city was quickly replenished with troops.
When Lei Jiangtou and the others were about to continue firing rockets, they were stopped by guards sent by Ping Liaohou.
"There is no need to launch rockets. Once the earthen wall is built, we can command the ground and bombard it calmly."
The days are short in spring and it gets dark quickly.
On the second day of the Battle of Kaiyuan, there was still little progress in the siege. The biggest casualties came from shelling and frostbite.
By the end of March 3rd, Pingliao Hou had lost more than a thousand people.
After nightfall, the snow fell heavier and heavier, the shelling ended one after another, and both the offensive and defensive sides became quiet.
The plaintive and moving sound of the flute sounded all around.
Marquis Ping Liao picked up a copy of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and was seeing Zhuge Liang's empty city plan when he suddenly heard the sound of a flute outside the tent. He was moved and thought of Jin Yuji again.
Marquis Pingliao called the guards and asked what was going on.
"Who's playing the flute?"
The guard pointed at Ningyuan City and said to Ping Liaohou:
"Sir, the sound of the flute came from the city wall, it should be from the Ningyuan defenders."
The sound of the flute is sad and sad, as if the dead soul is telling his misfortune.
"Let's go to the front and listen."
The guard quickly dissuaded:
"Your Majesty, you have a body worth thousands of dollars, so don't venture into dangerous areas lightly. If you go further, the defenders at the top of the city will be able to hit you with guns and cannons..."
Liu Zhaosun waved his hand:
"It's okay. Hearing the broken willows in this nocturne, who can't help but love his hometown? If he continues to play like this, the morale of the army will be shaken."
~~~~~~~
Under the cold night sky, the sound of the flute is melodious.
Next to the moat, a luxuriously decorated tent was set up.
A blazing bonfire on the shore illuminated the land, and a group of generals walked into the tent surrounded by the commander.
Candles were lit in the tent, reflecting a figure holding a candle and reading at night.
The crisp sound of firecrackers suddenly sounded at the top of Ningyuan City.
The candle was knocked over, and the figure in the tent slowly fell to the ground.
There was immediate panic around the tent, with a group of officers coming in and out.
The shrill flute sound suddenly stopped.
There was a cry on the snowy night.
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