Gao Yingxiang curled up and hid under the pit to prevent Kai Yuan soldiers from finding him.
The breeze blew, and the white smoke shrouding the front gradually dispersed, and a chest-high earthen wall could be seen behind the trench. The wall was covered with dense arrow feathers. It was estimated that there were tens of thousands of light arrows covering this place, and I don't know how many dog officers and soldiers were shot to death.
The scene of Brother Gao's tragic death appeared in front of his eyes. Gao Yingxiang gritted his teeth and was about to rush towards the earth wall. At this time, black sticks protruded from the top of the wall. Gao Yingxiang was stunned for a while before he remembered that they were fire bludgeoning tubes.
"One, two..."
Gao Yingxiang stuck his head out and judging from the number of gun tubes, there were only a few hundred fire gun soldiers behind the earthen wall. It’s no wonder that the Gou Guanjun had just fought a battle on their own (Zhang Chun’s Rebellion). Many people died and their vitality was severely damaged. Besides, the capital is so big that they can’t send everyone to guard Yongding Gate unless they don’t want to guard other places. The city gate is closed.
"Donkey Zhuzi, if hundreds of people haven't escaped yet, what benefit has the Dog Emperor given you! Let you fight like this for the Dog Emperor!"
At this time, there was a harsh sound of cymbals and gongs behind him, and Gao Yingxiang knew that it was the order for the general attack of the old battalion.
Then, a dense rain of arrows rose from the south bank of the moat and once again covered the positions on the north bank indiscriminately. The fire gun soldiers who were shooting just now immediately fell in large numbers. Some of the bandits who rushed across the moat and were still fighting with the officers and soldiers were like this Devoured by the arrows of his own people.
"Attack the city immediately, those who retreat will die!"
The generals of each battalion of the bandits waved their flags desperately from behind. Seeing that there was no way out, the bandits who rushed to the front had no choice but to rush towards the spear formation. Before they could get close, they stepped on the mine cannons buried next to the trench, and the mines exploded. Bang, those unlucky bandits were blown to pieces.
A severed hand fell from the sky and landed next to Gao Yingxiang.
The mine cannons did not stop the thieves from attacking. More and more people crossed the moat, jumped off the wooden planks, and crawled towards the trench on their hands and feet, as if there was a golden mountain hidden behind the trench.
There is indeed a golden mountain hidden there. As long as you cross the ditch and rush through the low wall, you can climb the city wall.
Gao Yingxiang's experience in several successful battles against the enemy told Gao Yingxiang that as long as he rushed to the bottom of the city wall, the officers and soldiers at the top of the city would lose their fighting spirit and immediately surrender to the intruders.
It was like this in Pianguan County, it was like this in Taiyuan, and it was still like this in Ningwuguan.
This time King Chuang sent General Liu 70,000 to 80,000 troops, not to mention there were internal forces in the city, so it shouldn't be a big problem to attack the capital.
Gao Yingxiang thought for a while and decided not to take the risk first and wait until a large group of people occupied the north bank.
He saw a narrow passage near the middle of the parapet, where only two people could pass side by side.
As long as the earthen wall is not knocked down, this passage is the only gap to break through the official and military positions and rush to the Yongdingmen city wall.
"The dog officer army has quite a lot of tricks."
While Gao Yingxiang was cursing, the recruits of the 12th Guards Corps had already rushed out along the passage, and then formed a small formation on the river bank to attack the bandits who had just landed.
The bandits who rushed in front were caught off guard. Before they could form a formation, they were stabbed through by the spearmen in the front row of the army. Those behind were driven back to the river, and those behind were squeezed and fell into the freezing cold. in the river.
At this time, the number of bandits who boarded the north bank has exceeded 500. However, these people are cannon fodder among the bandits. Their weapons are inferior and they have almost no armor. They are just to attract the firepower of the Kaiyuan Army. Facing the sharp attack of the Kaiyuan Army, He had almost no power to parry, and was quickly wiped out by the Yuanyang Formation.
The third wave of people who came ashore were elite soldiers from the intruders, horse soldiers from the old camp, or servants from the Shanxi frontier army. They all have different equipment and armor, but they are all fierce men. They wear several layers of armor and hold sharp blades in their hands. They are not afraid of the spear array coming towards them. They want to fight their way through with bravery and clear out this group of officers and soldiers. Be the first to board the city and get a huge reward.
The distance between the two sides quickly shortened to twenty steps. Kaiyuan's army immediately transformed the five-man Xiaosancai formation into a thirteen-man large mandarin duck formation. The long player stood in front, and a dense rain of arrows poured in, hitting the enemy. There was a clanging sound on the long card, and the flintlock gun behind the long card banged, firing angry lead bullets at the enemy on the opposite side.
After a round of remote output on both sides, dozens of people fell down on each side. The bandits wielded long axes and knives, rushed into the mandarin duck formation, and hacked and killed the long players.
"Fight to the death and never retreat!"
"Fight to the death and never retreat!"
The commanders of the Twelfth Guards Army were at the front, shouting at the top of their lungs at the soldiers. The recruits resisted desperately and killed the bandits who broke into the Yuanyang formation one by one. After three rounds of fighting, the positions outside the city were Only the last trench was left, and more than half of the five hundred new soldiers suffered casualties. They were forced to retreat to the earth wall and continue to defend with the earth wall.
More and more thieves crossed the moat, and their number quickly approached ten thousand.
"Okay, the old battalion is coming up and hacking these dog officers and soldiers to death!"
Gao Yingxiang shouted and jumped out of the pit. He rushed straight to the nearest mandarin duck formation.
The spearman of the Yuanyang Formation had just been shot to death by a heavy arrow. Without the cover of the spearmen, the rest of the soldiers only defended but did not attack. It was only a matter of time before they were all killed. Gao Yingxiang unleashed all his long-simmered anger on the sword-and-shielder in front of him. He was tall and opened and closed his sword widely. Every time he slashed, the sword-and-shielder retreated.
Gao Yingxiang is an old bandit among the bandits. He followed King Chuang from Yan'an County to Shanxi. He has the fierceness of the old Qin people in him. After the short sword and shield soldier opposite was slashed several times, his arms finally became sore and he held on. Unable to hold back, the long card loosened slightly, revealing a flaw. Gao Yingxiang stabbed straight into it, and stabbed into the lower abdomen.
"Kill you dog officer! Kill!"
Gao Yingxiang roared like a beast and kept thrusting his sword into the belly of the sword and shield soldier. Until a spear soldier came towards him, Gao Yingxiang kicked the corpse away and blocked the spear head with his sword.
The pikeman fired his spear fiercely and with deadly force. Gao Yingxiang blocked it with all his strength and retreated repeatedly. Just as he was about to reveal a flaw, a sound of gold suddenly came from behind the parapet on the opposite side.
All the Kaiyuan soldiers began to retreat. The pike soldier opposite gave Gao Yingxiang a hard look, pointed his gun at the bandit, and retreated quickly.
Gao Yingxiang and other pikemen withdrew. When he looked back, he saw that the dark army of intruders had crossed the river from the pontoon and swept across the entire position like a tide. It was visually estimated that there were at least 20,000 to 30,000 people.
The organic resistance of the officers and soldiers had been shattered. Thousands of gun soldiers, sword and shield bearers, and auxiliary soldiers on the north bank hurriedly retreated towards the city wall. Finally, more than 200 pikemen were responsible for the rear. They formed a thin three-layered front, barely Blocking the tide of tens of thousands of thieves, they refused to retreat.
"kill!"
Cheng Liang stabbed out a gun, and the gun came out like a dragon. A young thief who was rushing towards him screamed and covered his neck. Blood gurgled out from the gaps between his fingers. Before the thief could die, he was swarmed forward by the thief. Step on the soles of your feet.
Cheng Liang retracted the gun tip, gathered some strength, and stabbed it out again, taking away another thief's life.
"Commander Cheng!! Why did you stay?"
The training officer Huang Youlun raised the loaded flintlock musket with both hands and pulled the trigger suddenly. The huge recoil knocked him staggering and almost fell. Ten steps away, an old thief who was holding a bow and arrow was hit by a lead bullet. He hit his head, his brain exploded, and he fell to the ground.
"All the twelfth soldiers are dead. What's the use of living alone? Just have Zhu He in command over the earth wall. We are the old man Kaiyuan, and we have been protecting the Chinese army camp. All the emperor's soldiers are dead. , If we don’t go up, who will?”
Cheng Liang was panting and tried hard to pull out the gun head, but it was stuck in the bone seam and could not be pulled out. He looked forward anxiously, picked up the hatchet and threw it forward with all his strength. A tramp with a fleshy face was killed. Hit by a flying ax, he disappeared into a group of running figures.
"Okay, old man, let's guard this ditch and protect Mr. Liu."
~~~~~~
The artillery on the city wall continued to roar excitedly, and the shells poured like hail into the black crowd. Each shell plowed out bloody grooves in the crowd of thieves. The hot iron balls smashed the thieves' bodies into pieces, and their hands, feet, and internal organs were shattered. They were everywhere, as if they were being reassembled to make humanoid dolls.
However, the power of these solid bullets obviously cannot deter the refugees who only want to attack the city.
Countless refugees crossed the moat, their voices hoarse, their faces ferocious, thousands of angry faces, which finally blurred into deep hatred.
Who are the refugees? They are farmers. What does the government think of farmers? Do they think they are Bodhisattvas?
Farmers are the most cunning and cruel, loyal on the surface but the best liars. They will lie no matter what!
As soon as there is a war, they kill the remaining soldiers and seize weapons. When the court is in danger, they gather together to rebel. They are the stingiest, most cunning, cowardly, poisonous as snakes and scorpions, and are always bewitched by conspirators. From the Zexiang Uprising of Chen Sheng, Wu Guangda to the Taiping Rebellion, there were several movements that were truly for the peasants.
But who made the farmers become like this?
It's a government official, it's a country squire, it's a humble gentleman, they all deserve to die! Burning villages, ravaging fields, doing arbitrary labor, humiliating women, and killing those who resist! The tenant farmers had to do chores for the landlords (patrol patrols, construction work, miscellaneous tasks) and give gifts to the landlords during the holidays (winter animals, new year's meat, awns). However, during the autumn harvest, the landlords could get more than 50% or even 80% of the harvest. They violently urged them to do so. The tenants who owed rent would be beaten to death, and the tenants who owed rent would be beaten to death.
The refugees' fields have been laid waste, their villages have long been dilapidated, and their relatives have starved to death and become food for others. Their lives, like this little glacier climate, are desperate and cold.
Even if they can return to their hometown alive, they will starve to death and be eaten.
Following the man named Chuang Wang across most of northern China, all the way to the present, what supports these people is animal nature and animal instinct.
"Kill! Kill the officers and soldiers, kill! Kill them all!"
The last row of spearmen blocking the trench was overwhelmed by the crazy refugees...
A sharp bamboo whistle came from the parapet, followed by a whistling sound very close at hand, which was about to burst Gao Yingxiang's eardrums. The pungent smell of gunpowder smoke almost made the strong thief almost cry.
"Donkey Zhuozi, what the hell!"
He arched his back slightly, shifted the long knife from his left hand to his right, and took aim at the trench in front of him. A black tiger-head flag fluttered fiercely above the trench.
There was a faint smell of blood in the air.
Far behind the parapet, hundreds of rockets with long tail flames suddenly rose up. The bright light from the rockets was so bright that Gao Yingxiang could hardly keep his eyes open. He squinted and saw the rockets rising into the air, then swooping down, accompanied by the roar. There was a loud explosion, and the dense crowd of thieves on both sides of the moat were enveloped in fireballs.
"What the hell is this?"
Gao Yingxiang didn't have time to think about it. When he looked up, a rocket hit his head. Gao Yingxiang knew that this thing was powerful, so he quickly got up and ran away. But as soon as he stood up, his ears buzzed, and he felt a heat wave hit him from behind, as if he was being hit by someone. After lifting it, he fell back into the pit and subconsciously covered himself with the corpse. The surroundings were extremely hot, millions of fire rains fell from the sky, and the miserable howls of the bandits rang out all around. Groups of moving fireballs screamed and ran around, plunged into the icy cold moat, and sank in the ice and fire.
~~~~~~
Emperor Wu Ding hurried to Yongding Gate, where a fierce battle was raging. When the emperor passed by the Wang Gongchang gunpowder magazine, he didn't know whether he thought of the Apocalypse explosion or someone else, so he decided to take a look at the gunpowder magazine.
After Zhang Yan's death, Lao Kang was quickly pushed out of the cabinet by Yang Guozhang, and his position was demoted again and again, and finally he became the supervisor of the gunpowder depot at Wang Gong Factory.
He has lost his rank a long time ago, and now even the Thunder Chief can tell him what to do.
Liu Zhaosun met Kang Yingqian after being away for many days in the mine and artillery workshop.
The Emperor looked at Supervisor Kang, whose temples were all white and his body had obviously lost weight. He couldn't help but sigh and lamented that after not seeing him for two months, Old Kang had grown so old.
Liu Zhaosun and Sun Ping retreated to the same room as Kang Yingqian. The two exchanged a few words. Liu Zhaosun pointed at the door and cursed Yang Hao, saying that his father-in-law should not add insult to injury like this. He immediately issued an order to recall Kang Yingqian to his side and continue to be his supervisor. .
Kang Yingqian chuckled and continued to fiddle with his mine cannon. Without receiving the order to thank him, Emperor Wu Ding's Daqi was like the gunpowder particles on the table. In just six months, it had fallen apart and turned into a piece of loose sand.
The shrill cries of divine fire crows sounded in the direction of Yongding Gate, and countless lives followed the rockets into the sky.
Kang Yingqian remained silent.
Liu Zhaosun said to him: "Coming to see you today is also a farewell."
Kang Yingqian listened, put down the gunpowder bag, and finally said:
"Your Majesty, today's outcome has been determined since you killed the rebels and protected the merchants in Kaiyuan. The so-called kindness does not control soldiers, justice does not control wealth, and those who achieve great things cannot have a benevolent heart."
"A compassionate heart, do you think it's kind to you?"
Emperor Wu Ding seemed to be smiling but not smiling.
He had shown mercy to Kang Yingqian. If the emperor had not taken action, Lao Kang would have been tortured to death by Yang Hao's group.
Kang Yinggan smiled coldly: "I thank your Majesty for not killing me. I am already a dying person. What's the difference between death and immortality? It's just that your Majesty is too kind to those mud-legged people."
Liu Zhaosun nodded.
"Over the years, Your Majesty has been kind to the refugees and the people, but I didn't expect that it would end like this. Do you know how the history books will record it after Your Majesty's death?"
Emperor Wu Ding nodded and said with a smile: "Will you write me as the second Gao Huan?"
Kang Yinggan finished his attack and said: "Your Majesty's Da Qi may not be as good as Northern Qi. After all, it only existed for half a year."
Liu Zhaosun laughed. "Kang Jianjun's words make sense."
"What other plans does your Majesty have? Do you want to negotiate peace with the bandits? I can go and talk to Li Xianzhong."
Liu Zhaosun's laughter stopped suddenly, and his face looked ashen.
"The army is approaching the city and the city is about to be destroyed. There is nothing to talk about. It's just humiliating yourself."
As Liu Zhaosun spoke, he took off a jade pendant from his neck and handed it to Kang Yingqian.
"This is a token left by my adoptive father to me. If Kang Jianjun can escape and take this thing back to Nanchang Mansion in Jiangxi Province and return it to his adoptive father's grave, he will say that Xiao Shisan's journey is over."
Kang Yingqian quickly waved his hand, stepped forward to grab the military commander and the emperor, and said urgently:
"I really want to be Xiang Yu! Now I can escape from Guang'an Gate. The troops at Guang'an Gate are thin and the chance of victory is quite high. As long as I leave the capital and gather the troops to go to Liaodong and North Korea, there is still much to do. Victory or defeat is a common thing for military officers. There are so many storms and waves. We’re all here, so don’t be afraid!”
Liu Zhaosun remained silent for a long time before saying:
"With this retreat, seven years of hard work will be in vain. It will be more difficult to enter the pass than to climb to the sky. The bandits are gathering and dispersing. One wave is not settled and another wave is rising. The war continues and it should end. I have fought more than 70 major and minor battles since the beginning of Saerhu, but I have never been defeated. Today, I am trapped by bandits. This is my fate! This is God's death for me. It is not a crime of war. I can die with my wife, children and close friends. I am satisfied, no need to say more, I will live and die with the soldiers!"
Kang Yingqian saw that Liu Zhaosun had made up his mind. He knew Liu Zhaosun's character, so he accepted the jade pendant and said no more.
Emperor Wu Ding opened the door and was about to go out, when he suddenly heard someone say from behind:
"Your Majesty, have you ever regretted it?"
The traveler stepped out of the threshold with one foot and stopped in the house with one foot. He was silent for a long time:
"I have been a human being in two lives. In the previous life, I was in a state of confusion and gave up my waist for five buckets of rice. Now I am walking vigorously. Even if my soul is shattered and my bones are scattered in the end, I will not regret it."
After that, he turned around and left with Pei Dahu.
After Kang Yingqian waited for Emperor Wuding to leave, he sat at the table in a daze. Finally, he looked at a piece of gunpowder fuse exposed on the floor under his feet. His beard trembled slightly and a strange smile appeared on his face.
