Since the enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered, and there is a huge disparity in military strength, recapturing the outer city is a luxury. Now being able to stabilize the city defense and repel the invading enemy is a great achievement. Zhang Yilong didn't know when reinforcements would arrive, so he had to be cautious and never be careless.
According to the advance deployment of Huang Degong, the commander-in-chief of the Yongwei Battalion, deputy general Zhang Yilong and supervisor Wang Yumin guarded the south city. Deputy general Song Ji and supervisor Kong Zhenhui guarded the west city. General Lin Baoguo and supervisor Yin Dabai guarded the north city. General Ma Jinggong and supervisor Supervisor Wang Zhijun guards the east city.
Huang Degong himself and Liu Yuanbin, the supervisor, led 500 infantry and half of the chariot battalion to defend the imperial city. Lu Jiude, the eunuch of the supervisor, led the cavalry battalion and half of the chariot battalion to guard the camp outside the city. If anything happened in the city, they could rush to support at any time.
Originally, the infantry sub-battalion had nearly 3,600 troops, but 500 were transferred away by the general army. The rest had to be separated from the four walls of the inner city. The actual defense strength on each wall was less than 700.
If Huang Degong hadn't ordered the deployment of more than a thousand infantry and gunners from the chariot battalion to support the city defense, Zhang Yilong would have been in dire straits at this time. Even so, facing the fierce attack launched by the Beijing camp also made him very anxious.
If the opponent launches an attack from the outer city, it means that half of the capital has fallen into the hands of the thieves. This is a far greater threat than the capital was surrounded by the Qing army more than ten years ago.
The Yongwei Battalion was ordered to temporarily take over the defense of the inner city from the Beijing Battalion. Both its troops and weapons had not yet been fully deployed. It was attacked by the rebels tonight. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was a hasty response.
The rebels originally controlled the outer city and could launch attacks directly from the outer city walls. In this way, the terrain advantage of the Yongwei Camp was offset by more than half.
If it weren't for the prohibition, the defenders followed the regulations and closed the door of the turret at night, and the rebels had already entered the inner city through here, then the situation would have become more critical.
But I don’t know what the rebels were thinking. They only launched an attack between the corner tower and Chongwen Gate. There was no movement at all at the two city gates to the west of Chongwen Gate. According to the news from the sentries from time to time, everything was normal there.
Thousands of people attacked the city on this relatively narrow piece of land, which really puzzled Zhang Yilong. However, even though his troops were already stretched thin, Zhang Yilong decided to dispatch fifty people to support the southeast direction that was mainly attacked by the rebels. Turret.
"boom……"
Just as Zhang Yilong was talking to his subordinate Qian and looking outside, a few lights suddenly appeared in the distance of the outer city. In an instant, the city wall near Chongwen Gate was hit by a row of artillery shells.
Many of the defenders who were fighting back on the wall suffered misfortunes. Three or four crenellations were flattened one after another, and the blasted city bricks and rubble fell one after another, smashing the soldiers of the Fifth Army Camp who were preparing to climb the ladder at the base of the city.
Broken limbs and broken arms could be seen everywhere, ordnance scattered on the ground soaked in blood that still contained body temperature. Screams and groans could be heard one after another. Those who were lucky enough to be safe hurried over to help the injured soldiers.
"Hahahaha, well done! Just hit like that!"
Hao Mingyu, who was commanding the siege from a distance, saw that the Shenji Battalion finally showed its power, and he was so happy that it was really laborious to attack the inner city with only the fifth military camp.
But with the help of the Shenji Battalion, it would be twice the result with half the effort, allowing the Yongwei Battalion to have a taste of being hit by artillery shells.
Use dozens of artillery pieces to blast a city wall dozens of times. No matter how strong the city wall is, you won't be afraid that you won't be able to blast a gap.
In addition, we have a large number of people and can attack the turrets from the outer city wall. As long as we continue to attack without stopping, we will always have a chance to succeed.
As for how many brothers the Shenji Battalion's artillery shells would kill or injure, he wouldn't think too much about it. Without the help of artillery, he was afraid that more brothers would die.
What Hao Mingyu was thinking about was the 350 million taels of silver in the imperial city. He only got one million taels, which was enough. He really didn't know how big a pile of one million taels of silver was. They must confront each other after the city is broken. Give it a good taste.
Due to many factors such as the night being too dark, the streets too narrow, and too many people, the Shenji Battalion's artillery waited for a while before the two sides started to fire up. Moreover, more than half of the artillery shells flew to unknown places.
Tao Dinglin's artillery team was afraid of being hit by the Yongwei battalion if they were too close. If they were far away, this would be the result in front of them. The artillery formation was even powerful, but the actual effect was very average.
The loaded thirty-nine artillery pieces fired one after another. Only four shells hit the female wall. The rest either hit the city wall or flew directly over the city wall and into the inner city.
This is not bad. If a cannonball fell into the crowd at the foot of the city, I am afraid that the guys from the Fifth Army Camp would have started to yell at them.
No matter how elite the ancient army was, it was far from the ability to fight around the clock as its counterparts in later generations. Even night battles were mainly based on sneak attacks by the attackers and ambushes by the defenders.
There were countless torches illuminating the enemy, and its visual range and strike accuracy were far inferior to those of daytime operations. What's more, the Beijing camp's combat effectiveness was originally low. After being blocked by the opponent, the night attack became a veritable "blind attack."
Without the support of artillery fire, even if it was three against one or even five against one, this group of men in the Beijing camp would not be able to climb the ladder to the top of the city with flying arrows.
The inner city is about eight meters high. Climbing into the crenellations is like trying to attack the windows on the third floor. It is extremely difficult to climb in when there are ladders holding up the opponent's defense.
"Up, up, up! Climb quickly! Capture the city and reward yourself with a hundred taels of silver!"
The general at the base of the city sternly shouted to his brothers to attack the city as soon as possible, otherwise they would all die below. If you go up earlier, you can break into the imperial city earlier and grab money.
Without silver as bait, these men in the Beijing camp were too lazy to work for their superiors. Even the emperor ordered them not to move, and silver was their superior.
"ah……"
However, it was extremely difficult to capture the city from the crenellations. The soldiers of the Yongwei Battalion used their spears to poke down, and the rebels fell down like dumplings. Those who were lucky enough to jump into the crenels could not withstand the close-range attacks. One arrow "bukkake".
The gap in the female wall that was blown open was quickly blocked by the defenders with rolling logs. The rebels were still unable to move forward on the city top. The few remaining people were surrounded and killed without waiting for follow-up support.
There are four horse faces between the corner tower and Chongwen Gate, which can provide lateral fire support for the city head. The rebels in the open space between the horse faces can be attacked by cross fire from the defenders.
The rebels were so beaten that they were confused. While they wanted to attack the city and get into the imperial city as soon as possible to grab money, they also wanted to counterattack the defenders on the horse. In the end, there was no hope of realizing both wishes. If it weren't for the large number of people, The crowd had already started running back.
The swarming rebels were extremely frightening in terms of momentum, but due to the narrow attack area, the numerical advantage could not play a big role. Three to four thousand people were blocked in the northeast corner of the outer city.
The Beijing camp, which had been in battle formation for a long time, had not accumulated experience in attacking the top of the city. Its tactics were to fight hard and use a mass of people. According to the subjective assumptions of the generals, even if one or two thousand people died, they would still be able to break into the city.
"What the hell!"
The battle for the southeast corner tower was still going on. This was the first place where the battle started. However, after a quarter of an hour of fighting, President Qian of the Beijing Camp found that hundreds of his men had been killed and injured, but the corner tower was still not captured.
What's even more disadvantageous is that the front of the turret where the opponent is located faces the side of the turret where he is located. In addition, the Folan machine of the Yongwei camp has a faster rate of fire, causing him to be bombarded continuously.
The problem of gunpowder getting wet has been solved, but the firing is too slow. It takes one person to fire one shot, but the other side can fire three or four shots.
Our own gunners were quickly blasted by their counterparts on the opposite side, unable to even fight back. A whole section of the female wall was cut away, and the soldiers on the top of the city found that they had no cover, so they had to retreat inside.
When will this end? Unless they completely exit the turret or go directly to the city, as long as they continue to stay here, they will not be able to protect themselves and the blind cannonball will fall on their heads.
"boom……"
"careful!"
Two or three artillery shells hit the eaves of the turret, and rubble and dust suddenly fell down. The soldiers rushed over to protect Mr. Qian from harm.
"Damn it! Get them all! Kill those who retreat! As long as you hit them, their artillery will be nothing more than a pile of scrap metal!"
Mr. Qian wiped the dust off his face, pointed at a group of men who were frightened by the artillery fire with his sword, and shouted angrily that if they could not break into the corner tower in front of them, they would all be shot alive by several French guns on the opposite side. Death is not an option.
Our own gunners were either dead or wounded. Without enough gunners, it would be difficult for the firecrackers to display their power. For the current plan, we could only attack the corner tower in one go. Otherwise, we would not be able to explain to the guerrillas. If Shangfeng was angry, he would beheaded himself. maybe.
With such a turret so close, we still launched an attack on the city wall. As a result, so many brothers died before being defeated. Instead, they were beaten until they were howling like ghosts. Mr. Qian felt really angry.
"Come here, you guys! Turn the muzzle of the gun, aim it at the door of the building, and blast it open with one shot!"
President Qian then came up with a very feasible method. As long as the obstacles blocking his side could be blasted away, this thorny problem would be easily solved. When his brothers broke into the turret, they would kill all the defenders inside to vent their anger.
The remaining gunners had no choice but to obey the order and began to fiddle with the one artillery piece that could still be used. Under the constant urging of the commander, they slowly changed direction and pushed it to the door of their own turret, preparing to deliver a fatal blow.
"No, they're going to blast open the door to the building. Shoot the guns there quickly!"
This move was quickly discovered by the sharp-eyed defenders. This intention could not be more obvious. Everyone immediately began to concentrate fire to attack the artillery that had just been put in place. The gunners of the Beijing camp were hit head-on again, killing and injuring nearly ten people.
The shield in the hands of the sword-and-shield soldier who was responsible for covering the gunner was beaten to pieces. The guy who was still breathing foolishly touched his face and crotch area, and found that all the parts were there. He was really lucky. After being frightened, he was frightened. You have to piss yourself off.
The defenders have used rolling wood and thunder stones to completely block the inside of the building door. They are afraid that if this happens, even if the rebels open the building door, they will be unable to do anything. Unless they use manpower to carry these debris, a lot of people will die. people.
"ah……"
This idiot didn't get lucky for long. He ran back only four or five steps before he was slashed by Mr. Qian. His body fell in front of everyone, his eyes wide open, and everyone looked on in shock.
"Listen to me. Anyone who dares to run away from battle will suffer this fate!"
Under Qian Zong's angry shout, the soldiers had to put away their selfishness and prepare to storm the opposite corner tower again. No matter what the result was, they had to try again. If they succeeded, the money in the imperial city would be almost at their fingertips. .
Holding the bloody waist knife, Mr. Qian looked around at the dilapidated place, and then at the unmoving turret on the opposite side. He could still be beaten like a bear by beating too many, and he felt even more angry and despised his incompetent subordinates. .
But my success depends on their hard work below, so I have to endure it for now and just think about the shining silver mountain in the imperial city to feel some comfort.
"You haven't conquered it yet? What do you want to eat?"
A guerrilla from the Fifth Army Battalion climbed onto the corner tower and found that a group of people were still standing still. Except for the death of one person, there was almost no change in the front line. The Yongwei Battalion was still firing frequently on the opposite side, bombarding our own soldiers wantonly. He couldn't help but Furious.
President Qian couldn't hide his embarrassment, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and report the situation at hand: "Reporting the guerrillas, the defenders at the top of the city are quite brave. We have organized three charges and are implementing the fourth!"
As the battle continued, Hao Mingyu was no longer as optimistic as he had been at the beginning, and the smile on his face turned into a solemn expression. Nearly a thousand soldiers of the Fifth Army Battalion were killed and injured, but no important place was captured. The inner city defense line was still under the control of the Yongwei Battalion. in hand.
The corner tower, which he regarded as the key area for attack, was not captured immediately, which directly caused the troops under the city root to be attacked successively by the defenders at the city head, Ma Mian and Chongwen Gate.
Regardless of the casualties, the lack of any hope of breaking the city is what makes him angry. Doesn't this imply the incompetence of his troops?
Lieutenant General Han Rui, who had been optimistic before, saw this situation from a distance and had to consider negotiating with Ding Jian and others to try to open a breakthrough in the turret west of Xuanwu Gate.
The Shenji Battalion was still providing artillery support to the friendly forces step by step, but judging from the battle situation at the scene, they would continue to fire artillery until daylight.
They were far away from the fighting zone, and the Yongwei Battalion focused most of their attention on the imminent city root. Fortunately, the casualties of the Shenji Battalion were not serious.
In order to show their sincerity, Tao Dinglin and He Wei still dispatched hundreds of gunmen to hide in the courtyard of Minzhai and shoot at the city. Whether they can gain something is another matter.
Ding Jian and Han Rui stood on a higher ground and used monocular telescopes to observe the battle situation in the direction of the turret.
The fight was lively, but it did not achieve the expected results, but the continuous strong attack was able to consume the opponent's ammunition.
By the time dawn breaks, the defenders will be in dispirited spirits and physical strength, and they will have a good chance of winning.
Being able to break through the city before that would be an unexpected surprise.
As senior generals who were not enthusiastic, the two lieutenants did not place all their hopes on sneak attacks.
They knew Huang Degong's ability to lead troops, so the chances of successfully attacking the Yongwei camp were not high.
Instead of opportunistically trying to take advantage of others, it would be better to use "one force to bring down ten wisdoms"!
No matter how powerful you are, you can't defeat me because of my overwhelming numbers!
