Contrary to Emperor Wu Ding's expectation, the bandits did not cross the river to attack at night. Instead, they closed the camp gate tightly and could not get out.
As the saying goes, when the enemy retreats, we advance. Since the bandits will not fight, the Kaiyuan army will fight.
Wang Erhu and several battalion officers organized manpower overnight. At midnight, the artillery covered by sword and shield soldiers came out from the Yongdingmen city wall at night and launched artillery fire on the bandits on the south bank.
The night attack artillery sneaked all the way to the moat under the cover of night. When they were less than two miles away from the bandit camp, they spread out all the sacred fire and flying crows they brought with them. According to the pre-marked targets, every half hour, Send out a wave of rockets, trying to cause maximum panic to the bandits.
Hundreds of rockets streaked across the dark night sky like flaming phoenixes, exploding and burning above the heads of the sleeping bandits. The simple and dilapidated tents suddenly turned into a sea of fire. Countless people woke up from their dreams, naked in the sea of fire. Running around, howling like wild beasts.
The identities of the refugees under Liu Zongmin's command were diverse. Some were surrendered by border troops, some were thieves from Henan, and most of them were refugees who had never been on a battlefield and had never seen blood.
After the tents were set alight, these people ran around like headless flies, exacerbating the chaos. It wasn't until the roaring crows of sacred fire illuminated the dark river bank into daylight that the leaders of each battalion thought of organizing manpower to put out the fire.
In the firelight, the figure of the wandering thief swayed. The servants hurriedly ran to the river to carry water with buckets. They were quickly shot at intensively by Kaiyuan gunmen. After leaving a large number of corpses behind, the bandits sent archers to stand by the river on the south bank and fired arrows at the riflemen. The original army fired at each other across the river.
Arrows and stones flew across the moat in front of Yongding Gate, across the narrow river thirty paces wide. The lead darts of the musketeers and the arrows of the thieves rushed towards each other but often missed, which was full of tragedy.
I long to see you, but please remember, I will not open my mouth to see you. This is not because I am proud, you know I have nothing to be proud of in front of you, but because our meeting only makes sense if you also want to see me.
~~~~~~~
Rockets flew over the river, and in the disturbing roar, they illuminated the corpses of bandits floating on the river.
The two sides went back and forth like this for most of the night, shooting at each other from Zishi to Chenshi. During this period, the bandits pushed the Fran machine gun up the slope (it was difficult for the artillery to gain a foothold on the slope during the day), and directed a burst of fire at Yongdingmen City. Indiscriminate bombardment, barely suppressed the army's artillery fire.
When the sky dimmed, this inexplicable night battle finally ended. After this battle, the bandits lost thousands of men and horses. The burning tents on the south bank were still emitting wisps of green smoke. The stench of human flesh roasting and moxibustion wafted far away. Some stray thieves sat slumped on the ground, looking at the Yongdingmen city wall at a loss.
At the beginning of the hour, the exhausted Wang Erhu asked each battalion to count the casualties. His own casualties were only 200, and most of them were injured by light arrows thrown by the bandits. They were not serious. He was in a happy mood and sent someone to report the results of the battle to Emperor Wuding.
The bandits, who had been advancing all the way eastward and were invincible, stumbled in front of Yongding Gate, and the attack was forced to stop. Fortunately, the defenders in the city had no intention of counterattack.
The war at Yongdingmen reached a stalemate.
Liu Zongmin was furious, beheaded two old camp generals, and ordered the army to attack Guang'anmen.
~~~~
In front of the Guang'anmen moat, there is still the trench parapet position used by the Kaiyuan Army, with several field guns hidden behind the position.
The defenders lay scattered in the trench, snoring loudly, and a town soldier was on guard at every interval.
All the manpower that can be mobilized in the city is here.
After Zhu He took over this position, he heard that many people had not slept for two days - the bandits continued to conduct tentative attacks on Guang'anmen, and the soldiers defending the city were insufficient and could not get any rest - so he asked the soldiers to Rest where you are.
The training officer Chu Jinsheng objected loudly: "Kaiyuan Military Law states that soldiers must stay awake before battle! Officer Zhu Ying, if you do this, you will be beheaded!"
Chu Jinsheng, like Zhu He, was temporarily transferred from Yongding Gate to help defend Guang'an Gate, because the main force of the bandits had moved this way.
"Emperor Wu Ding once said that a soldier who can't rest cannot be a good general. If we can't win this battle, everyone will be beheaded. If we win, you kill me!"
Chu Jinsheng stopped talking.
The soldiers in the trench had swollen eyelids, unkempt hair, dark eyes, sunken eye sockets, and they were all half humans and half ghosts.
Although a soldier who can't rest cannot be a general, Zhu He hasn't slept for three days and three nights. He took a green onion and slapped himself when he felt sleepy, then took two bites. The pungent spicy smell made him choke. No sleepiness at all.
"Officer Zhu Ying, where are our reinforcements?"
Zhu He chewed a green onion and trembled as if he had smoked marijuana. He pointed to the snoring soldiers in the trench:
"Here."
The instructor's eyes widened and he asked repeatedly: "That's all?"
Zhu He nodded solemnly, as if it were a matter of course, stepped forward and patted Chu Jinsheng on the shoulder, smiling at the instructor:
"Lao Jin, be satisfied. We have fighting soldiers, we have suppressing soldiers, and we have strong men. You know that all the soldiers at Chongwenmen are dead. Now it is the suppressing soldiers who are in front, which is only a matter of half a day. We are much stronger than Lao Zhao and the others. Isn’t this more, one, two..."
As Zhu He talked, he began to count the people sleeping in the trench. When he counted to two hundred and fifty-seven, sleepiness hit the stubborn and belligerent Kaiyuan general like a cannonball.
He took a nap, then woke up again. Seeing that the instructor was still standing in front of him, he was not embarrassed at all and asked:
"Lao Jin, where did you count just now?"
Jin Chusheng said coldly: "Stop counting."
"ah?"
"The thieves are coming."
~~~~~
The vanguard of the bandits rushed to cross the river. The vanguards were all cannon fodder, and their role was still to consume the defenders' cannons.
The black crowd of refugees paddled on wooden planks and rushed toward the gate of Guang'an Gate.
Compared with Yongding Gate, the artillery at the top of Guang'an Gate seemed much sparse, and the gunners were running around like headless flies - many of them were temporarily transferred from the Shenji Battalion. The former Mingshenji Battalion was already in bad shape. If it weren't for the Kaiyuan Artillery Corps, they wouldn't have appeared here.
Zhu He planned to use the two hundred divine fire flying crows assigned to Guang'anmen to deal with the elite rogues, the old camp horse soldiers.
After the first round of firing from the city's artillery, more than a hundred people were killed on the spot, three of whom were defenders on the city wall - a Shenji battalion gunner filled the gunpowder too much, causing the chamber to explode.
The river was not wide to begin with, and the level of the gunners dispatched from the Shenji Battalion was really worrying. The fifty-furlong cannon and the Hongyi cannon fired three rounds vigorously, and most of the shells flew to no one knows where. The only thing worth celebrating is that , did not hit the Kaiyuan soldiers under the city.
Most of the thieves crossed the river without any danger, but about a hundred unlucky ones were directly hit by artillery, leaving no trace of their bodies.
"Damn, what the hell!"
Zhu He was so angry that he threw the green onion on the ground and stepped on it twice. He suddenly remembered Wang Conzhi and Han Zhenyi. Fortunately, the two artillery officers were still in Shaanxi. If they had seen this scene, they would probably be pissed to death. .
"Send the order! The bandits are approaching the parapet. The fire gun soldiers should not move yet. Only the archers are allowed to shoot arrows!"
Zhu He's strategy is very simple. Conceal his own strength, give the bandits the illusion that Guang'anmen has insufficient firearms, attract a large number of enemy troops to cross the river, and then use rockets to wash the ground. The fire rifle soldiers will come forward to pursue them, striving to give the bandits the maximum chance. Kill.
The vanguard of the bandits was getting closer and closer. Apart from a few stepped-on mine cannons and artillery shells fired dozens of steps away from target, the Kaiyuan Army had no counterattack.
Chu Jinsheng looked anxiously at the observation deck behind the parapet.
Finally, the archers hiding behind the breastworks discovered the enemy.
Half a head and two arms stuck out from the observation deck, gesturing towards Zhu He and the others.
In this era, semaphores and hand gestures were among the most effective communication tools on the battlefield.
Zhu He looked back at Sun Xiaoqi on the high platform. This young archer hit the bullseye with three consecutive arrows at the Kaiyuan shooting range three years ago. A rare smile appeared at the corner of his chapped mouth.
"More than a thousand servants, two hundred old camp, and,"
Chu Jinsheng was translating beside him. Zhu He rubbed his bloodshot eyes and looked up to the other side of the river.
"There are also shield chariots crossing the river, long swords, and foot bows."
After Sun Xiaoqi made the gesture, he immediately retracted his head.
"Archers can't kill so many people! We still need fire gun soldiers to take action!"
The instructor said worriedly.
"Wait until they all come over."
After he finished speaking, he stood up and shouted to the soldiers around him:
"In the forty-seventh year of Wanli, I followed the emperor to fight, from Sarhu to Hunhe, and I was not afraid of anyone! I just sent people to recruit Li Xianzhong to surrender, and persuaded him to surrender, but he was so stupid that he refused to surrender, and even sent people to Die. Every one of our brothers in the 11th Guards Army is a hero and a good man! Your parents and brothers are all watching you. Today, either kill them all or be killed by them! You die You, Emperor Wu Ding, will die, and so will your family! These beasts will even eat human flesh, and there is nothing they can’t do!"
"Everyone has broken the road. You all have several lives on your body. Your dead brothers are watching in the sky! I'm waiting for you to kill more thieves, so you can't die easily, everyone!"
Zhu He's voice was hoarse and his words were deafening.
"I've heard it all clearly. Everyone must kill fifty bandits! Kill fifty thieves before he can die! Not even one less! No suicide attacks!"
"Did you even hear that?"
Eight hundred soldiers from the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 11th Guards Corps shouted in unison:
"heard it!"
Zhu He aroused the soldiers' emotions, looked back at the training officer Chu Jinsheng, and said with a smile on his face:
"Lao Jin, we are a big boss and can't speak well. Do you have anything else to say to the brothers?"
The instructor was speechless.
Seeing that Lao Jin was silent, Zhu He waved his hand and pointed the command flag ahead at the swarming thieves:
"Copy the guys and send them on their way!"
~~~~~ “Whoosh!”
A heavy arrow was shot from the high platform, as fast as lightning. The body of the light-armored thief rushing in front was shaken, and his chest was hit by the arrow.
The heavy arrow hit the chest of the light armor with great force, and the arrowhead penetrated from the back.
The flow thief looked at the arrow that shot into his body with an incredulous expression. His hands were weak and unable to grasp in the air, and he fell to the ground helplessly.
Thirty steps away, Sun Xiaoqi tightened her grip on the short bow that was trembling, with a faint smile on her lips.
