The invasion of Jiangxia was just a rumor.
It seemed hopeless to expect a group of refugees to attack the fortified city at night.
Back at the camp, Liu Yi reported the details of last night's night attack to Pu Gang and Xing Zhongyi in Henan dialect.
"Mom, what a sin. It was a moonlit night last night. It was dark everywhere. There were so many iron caltrops on the ground. When I got stuck, my insteps felt cold and painful. This time we learned to be smart and didn't step on the mines and cannons. We went around the road. As we walked, there were no people on the road. About three o'clock in the morning, General Lu led more than 200 brothers from our first battalion, leading the refugees to Binyang Gate in the dark. It was dark above the head, with only a few torches, and no light could be seen. Army. Mom, we’re here. Before Mr. Lu Ba started talking about how to climb the wall, a few cowardly refugees carried ladders and started to do it. Damn it, it doesn’t matter, but we, Lu Ba, have been cheated. Boss! The arrogant Ming army hung some bells at the top of the city. The ladder was erected, but before I climbed up, the bells jingled, and a black human head poked out from behind the crenellation, looking like a ghost. "
"They were on guard. They used fire blunderbuss, bows and arrows to shoot at those who were far away. Their fire blunderbuss was very accurate, and they stabbed those who were closer with spears and knives. The refugees who climbed up the city were outnumbered and were all shot down by the Ming army. A few skilled men managed to climb up the city by luck. President Lu Ba immediately led his brothers to rush towards them. Just as they were about to open a hole, the firepower of the Ming army suddenly increased. Guns were fired everywhere. President Lu Ba was shot and fell. At the top of the city, seven or eight of the brothers died trying to retrieve his body."
Liu Yi was taking care of the horses outside the city until a stray bullet penetrated the horse's head. The lead bullet passed through his arm and pierced a hole in his sleeve. The horse died and he was fine.
Soon, the Qi army was defeated from the city. Of the 2,000 refugees and 200 soldiers who participated in the night attack, fewer than 800 escaped back to the camp alive.
"I heard from the soldiers who retreated that before General Lu died, he asked us to evacuate quickly and protect ourselves."
Pu Gang saw that Liu Yi looked groggy, as if he was using his last strength to support himself, so he asked him to step back and rest.
In the big tent, two people, Pu Gang and Xing Zhongyi, were left behind. There was dead silence around them, and the drum beat of the patrol sergeant could be heard in the distance.
President Lu's last words deeply moved the two officers.
Xing Zhongyi sighed and said:
"When I am about to die, I forget my own safety and think of my companions who are also in trouble. This is the soul of my army."
Pu Gang bit his lip and said for a long time: "The loss of so many people in the first battalion is all my fault. They should not be allowed to supervise the battle."
He fell into a long silence.
Xing Zhongyi wiped away his tears:
"Lao Pu, the night attack is about to stop. We can't attack the enemy. Defeating again and again like this will have a huge impact on morale! Let's attack from the front!"
Pu Gang shook his head and said: "If we attack with force, more people will die."
"The Ming army will not sit back and let us do nothing. Zuo Liangyu is probably preparing to encircle and annihilate us. Whether to fight or retreat, you have to make a decision early!"
~~~~~
Since the death of Mr. Lu, the Battle of Jiangxia has progressed slowly. Night attacks failed twice, killing thousands of refugees and more than a hundred soldiers, and were forced to stop.
The hot air balloon bombed twice more, killing and injuring hundreds of Jiangxia people and a dozen Ming troops. Tens of thousands of leaflets were dropped into the city. Because innocent people were killed in the bombing, the effect of persuading surrender was offset. Lost.
The useless bombing campaign ended in nothing like the night raid.
The night attack failed and the bombing failed. All that anyone could think of was bombing the city walls and digging holes.
The strategy of blowing up the city was used by the Supreme Emperor in Ningyuan, Liaoxi Province. It was used to deal with Zu Dashou. It was nothing more than stuffing gunpowder into a vat or coffin, sealing it, and then pushing it into the gap in the city wall to blow up the city.
There is no technical difficulty, but it still requires a human life.
The refugees were organized and mobilized again. They crossed trenches and dug the city wall near Binyang Gate. They braved the dense rain of arrows and lead bullets at the top of the city. Each person took a piece of the city and transferred it back until they dug a wall big enough to hold a coffin or a large vat. gap.
After more than a thousand people died, the gap finally opened. Under the cover of the carriage, the engineers of the Antelope Corps pushed the coffin filled with gunpowder into the gap and ignited the fuse.
"Boom!"
The smoke dispersed, and under the gaze of thousands of people, a hole the size of a carriage was blown out of the gap in the Binyang Gate city wall.
The majestic golden drum sounded, and the sword, shield, and spear soldiers of each battalion of the Antelope Corps swarmed forward, acting as the vanguard to break the city.
Just when Pu Gang thought Jiangxia was about to be breached, the Qi army approaching the gap was suddenly attacked by intensive firecrackers and artillery. More than half of the more than 300 people who rushed forward suffered casualties and had to retreat.
Ma Jinzhong, who was unable to withstand the engineers' attack on the city, made a desperate move and ordered all the firearms on Binyang Gate to be moved down the city wall and concentrated in the gap.
When the Qi army brought in artillery and began to organize the second wave of attacks, the gap on the opposite side had been refilled with baskets of sandbags and wood.
The bombing of the city suffered a setback.
At the same time as the city was being bombed, the engineers organized manpower to dig tunnels. Sometimes they were dug too deep and water came out;
Every time you encounter a setback, all your previous efforts have to be wasted and you have to start over.
Jiangxia's breakthrough seems to be far away.
The Nanjing and Suzhou newspapers deified Li Cheng and Ma Jinzhong, who were guarding the city, and compared them to figures like Tian Dan in the Warring States Period and Zhang Suiyang in the Tang Dynasty.
The transfer started on February 15th.
On the night of the 15th, the musketeers and archers from both sides of Qi and Ming fired at each other as usual, aimlessly venting their anger.
A flaming light arrow passed over the heavily fortified city wall and landed lightly on a haystack beside a warehouse in the south of the city. The clerk guarding the warehouse happened to be rushed into the city to throw stones.
So a raging fire broke out in the warehouse, which was quickly extinguished by the Ming army. The next day, rumors began to spread in the city that Jiangxia's food had been burned.
No matter what the facts are, the Qi army's policy of strengthening the walls and clearing the country has achieved miraculous results.
On the fifteenth day of Jiangxia's siege, the food reserves of the people in the city had long been exhausted.
The people of Jiangxia and the people of Hankou and Huangpi were mostly either relatives or friends. People in the two cities who had surplus food spontaneously went to Jiangxia and begged the defenders to open the city gates and rescue their relatives.
The Qi army negotiated with the Ming army, and on the 16th, the hungry people were released to eat.
Ma Jinzhong regarded the hungry people in the city as his enemies. After repeatedly confirming that everything was safe, he agreed to the Qi army's request.
At an agreed time between the Qi and Ming Dynasties, a third party, the Huangpi gentry, sent a boat across the river to greet the hungry people. A red flag was placed on the boat as a signal, and both sides were not allowed to attack the red boat.
At noon on the 16th, when the hungry people of Jiangxia learned that they could go out of the city to eat, they rushed out as soon as the city gate opened, so that seven people were squeezed to death at Wenchang Gate.
In fact, the people in the city have long been out of food. They eat grass roots, bark, cats, dogs, rats, and even people.
A kind-faced old man took out the cornbread he had treasured for many days and presented it to the instructor Xing Zhongyi, holding it in both hands.
The outside of the wowotou is corn paste mixed with soil. When you break it open, you can see that there is meat inside.
"Master, this is rat meat. It's very fragrant. Can you try it?" the old man who went out to eat in the city said with a smile.
Xing Zhongyi declined the old man's kindness and ordered Liu Yi to take the old man to the camp to have porridge.
At three quarters of noon, Jiangxia City Gate closed on time.
According to the narrations of the people who left the city, the morale of the Ming army in the city was already low. Ordinary soldiers only ate one porridge a day. All the mules had been killed, and now horses were being killed. The people of Jiangxia were afraid. Next, they should kill themselves for food rations.
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