The newly surrendered soldiers want to run back to their own positions after being defeated. This is impossible in wartime. The officers and soldiers are also afraid that their formation will be disrupted by broken troops, and even broken troops will attack their own troops together with the rebels.
This kind of thing happens from time to time, and it is very necessary to prevent it. The officers and soldiers are very distrustful of these surrendered soldiers who have not received the certificate of surrender. Supervising the battle at close range is to prevent them from turning against each other again.
As long as a counterattack occurs, there is no need to be polite to them. Instead of obeying the command, they will join in with the thieves and kill as many as they rush towards.
The soldiers who had surrendered to the army first received the order and all lay down obediently on the ground, not daring to move at all. At this time, they were all weak, because it was important to save their lives.
The officers and soldiers killed people much more ruthlessly than they did, as sharp as cutting grass. In Yun County and eastern Sichuan, tens of thousands of rebel soldiers and horses were killed by the government troops in less than a stick of incense.
If they had known that the officers and soldiers were so powerful, they would not have rebelled again. It would be great to continue to serve as officers and soldiers and eat the royal food. It's all because Luo Rucai and others were so smart that they ended up harming others and themselves. They really deserved to be killed, beheaded, and executed by Lingchi!
"ah……"
Hearing the screams from behind, some of the soldiers lying on the ground couldn't help but be curious. They turned around and looked back, only to see about a hundred thieves trying to kill the officers and soldiers.
But they were beaten with blood by bullets and arrows, and their corpses were lying on the streets. Those who did not die on the spot were rolling on the ground, wailing, and wanting to be treated by the officers and soldiers. It was really ridiculous.
"Get up quickly!"
"Everyone get up!"
"Turn around and chop the thieves to death!"
"Give it to your forehead!"
Most of those who can reach the general level or even higher positions are Shaanxi people who came from the border army. This is quite common among Xue Chengcai, Hui Dengxiang, and Wang Guangen.
There are also many people from Shaanxi on the other side, but when the fellow villagers see the fellow villagers at this time, their eyes will bleed. As long as the camps are different, the weapons must be at each other's throats, and in the end only one side can survive.
All thieves and wounded soldiers on the street will be slaughtered without leaving a single one alive. Under the guise of getting rid of harm for Min, this group of Qi Sui ended up poisoning the people. If they were left alone, they would be a disaster. They couldn't even let them eat a grain of food.
"Cover and kill the thieves!"
"Go ahead"
These servants, who were pretending to be powerful, immediately gained confidence when they saw that their master was so powerful that they beat the rebels to pieces and were completely defeated.
Fighting with the wind is easy to fight, as long as you follow the opponent's butt and chase him. Nanyang City is so big, and the city gates in all four directions are still in the hands of the government troops, so the enemy has no choice but to escape.
The servant army is not afraid of killing the wrong one. They have not yet received the official uniform of the official army, but they all wear green scarves on their shoulders and straw hats or large-brimmed felt hats on their heads, making them very easy to distinguish.
It doesn't matter if you don't have iron armor for protection. You can get some wooden shields and armors. The protective power of these things is not as good as that of iron armor, but it can be used. It is much better than just wearing cloth like a bandit.
The equipment of these thieves is simply not worth mentioning. Apart from spears and waist knives, they don't even have shields, let alone armor. They are almost just vanguards who do not want to die.
The thieves and generals don't care about their life or death at all, nor do they themselves. They still try to confront the official army, so there is no need to care about the official army and the servant army.
On one main street alone, the officers and soldiers killed no less than 600 thieves during their campaign. The rest either ran to other places or fled into the courtyard to hide.
However, under the dragnet-style investigation, there is no possibility of success in evasion. The government army is also equipped with many hounds, whose sense of smell is far superior to humans.
As long as the hound suddenly barks at the search site, the officers and soldiers will know that thieves are hiding nearby, and a careful search will bring unexpected surprises.
Sun Chuanting was originally not good at using this move, but he couldn't stand the guidance of an "expert", and he also learned many off-beat moves to deal with thieves.
Hounds can not only be used for search and tracking, but can also serve as early warning at night. When enemy troops approach the army camp, their whereabouts will be discovered in advance, thus saving a lot of manpower and improving the level of early warning.
However, most of Nanyang City had been burned by the fire, and some streets and alleys were still burning when the officers and soldiers entered the city, and the thick smoke still did not dissipate.
The officers and soldiers could only look for suspicious signs in the smoking ruins, which disappointed many people. It seemed that the situation here was not much better than that in Huguang.
"Someone!"
"come out!"
"Don't do anything! I am an officer!"
A group of officers and soldiers suddenly found several people hiding in the ruins. Their faces were all gray and black, their armor and clothes were in tatters, and they were almost unrecognizable. Only a pair of eyes were still shining.
"Who are you? Why are you hiding here?"
The commander who led the team took a look at the clothes of several people. Judging from the appearance, the identity of the other party seemed to be an official soldier, but this image was a bit shy to show to others.
"I am Zhang Guoqin, the commander-in-chief of Nanyang! This is the official seal! Take me to see your commander-in-chief!"
One of the burly guys coughed a few times after being choked by the smoke, then took out a seal from his arms and showed it to the other party.
"...Yeah! Please!"
General Manager also knows about a hundred words, at least the "General" and "Bing" on the official seal are familiar. As for whether it is true, that is a matter above.
"Yo~! Brother Zhang...hiss...what are you..."
Zheng Jiadong was sitting in the west gate tower waiting for the letter. He was drinking and eating meat at the moment. The tragedy inside would not affect the appetite and mood of the battle-hardened commander-in-chief at all. When he saw Zhang Guoqin who had been wiped clean, he also Don’t forget to say hello.
"Oh~! It's a long story!"
Now that he had become the rescued general of the defeated army, Zhang Guoqin could not say much more. If reinforcements had not arrived, he did not know whether he would have survived the raid by the rebels.
"You eat something here first, and then go with me to see the commander!"
Seeing his colleagues in such a state of desolation, Zheng Jiadong no longer felt ridiculed. After all, he had fought a fierce battle with the bandit army before and was finally defeated by the city. The large number of bandit corpses outside the city was the best proof.
"Thank you very much, Brother Zheng, for your hospitality!"
Zhang Guoqin was also hungry. He had exhausted a lot of energy while fighting at the top of the city and had not eaten or drank. Now he saw a table of wine and meat. After thanking him, he immediately sat down and started to wolf down the food.
While Zheng Jiadong was watching this guy eating, he was wondering. Although Nanyang City was not big, it was not a small city. How could it be captured by the bandit army in such a short period of time?
After the confrontation, it seems that the combat power of this bandit army is not too high?
Could it be that the defenders were really embarrassed?
Let's wait until he finishes eating and explain to Dushuai.
"Zhang Guoqin, tell me the whole story!"
After arriving at the camp, Sun Chuanting immediately wanted to know the causes and consequences of Nanyang City being breached by the bandit army. According to his expectation, Nanyang City should only be a near miss and should never be quickly breached by the bandit army.
"Commander Qi, the bandit army has already attacked once before, but our army resisted tenaciously in the city. The bandit army suffered many casualties and failed to succeed, so they turned to attack the surrounding cities. When they came back, the bandit army The strength of the troops was no less than 50,000, but with the concerted efforts of the army and the minions in the city, the rebel army failed to succeed quickly in the second attack on the city. The general thought that Nanyang City could not hold on for more than three months, but the rebel army dug holes in the ground. They dug more than ten branches. Outside, the bandits hollowed out tree trunks, loaded gunpowder into them, put multiple tree trunks into the city gate, ignited them and detonated them, blowing up the tower near the city gate. The city wall. Using both internal and external tactics at the same time, it was really difficult for the defenders to resist, which is why Nanyang City fell into the hands of thieves, and the general will be guilty!"
Being tricked by the other party, Zhang Guoqin also admitted defeat. Nanyang City fell, and he was the number one culprit. Even if Sun Chuanting did not blame him, he would not be lenient if he reported it to the court.
"Write what you say on paper, and I will report it to the court. As for you, you are still the guard of Nanyang. After wiping out the bandits in the city, you must gather your troops and horses, mobilize the people, repair the city, and tidy up the houses."
Sun Chuanting's troops were all fighting soldiers, and he could not arrange another man and horse to assist in defending the city. The result of continuous division of troops was that the size of his troops eventually dropped significantly.
From the on-site investigation and what Zhang Guoqin said, Sun Chuanting believed that it was still consistent. There was generally no obvious discrepancy. The number of bandits killed was also large. It could be seen that the defenders tried their best.
He did not dare to give Zhang Guoqin a guarantee, so he could only refrain from punishment for the time being and assign him a position first. After the court's order came down, he or Henan Governor Lu Daqi would make the decision.
"Thank you so much, General!"
Zhang Guoqin was overjoyed to get the suspended punishment. Since Sun Chuanting had no intention of severely punishing him, he must have written a memorial to the court to absolve himself of some culpability.
"Okay! Let's go down and rest first!"
Sun Chuanting also wanted to see the siege tactics used by the rebels, especially the use of tree trunks to blow up the city and dig holes in the ground.
If this method is adopted, a two-pronged approach can capture a city, and then the bandits will really be unable to defend themselves against it.
Since the bandit army was able to capture Nanyang City using this method, they must also be able to capture Ruyang City, Ruzhou City, Kaifeng City, and even Luoyang City!
Sun Chuanting became more and more worried, but it was easier to blow up the city with tree trunks, but digging holes was time-consuming.
The bandit army must at least ensure that the reinforcements of officers and soldiers will not relieve the city within half a month, otherwise all efforts will be wasted.
Thinking of this, Sun Chuanting immediately led people to observe the holes that the rebels had dug.
After seeing it, Sun Chuanting was not only worried about the battlefields in Henan and Huguang, but also worried about the capital.
Once Donglu uses this strategy, wouldn't the capital be in danger?
I hope His Highness can take precautions, otherwise he will be taken advantage of by Donglu.
As the sun set, the fighting in the city still did not subside.
But there is good news, that is, the county magistrate Yao Yunxi and others who were hiding in the Tang Palace were rescued by the army.
The Tang Palace had been captured by the superior rebel army, but Yao Yunxi and others were hiding in a secret room in the Tang Palace.
This secret room was where King Tang used to play some unknown games. If the mechanism is not found, it cannot be opened from the outside.
Before the rebels had time to thoroughly search the mansion, they were surrounded by officers and soldiers outside.
They also dreamed of resisting like the previous defenders, but it was a pity that the officers and soldiers carried Folangji.
After a round of shelling, the palace's doors and walls were blown down by bullets, and the rebels inside were dumbfounded.
They had previously besieged the palace to rob the gold, silver and jewels inside, but before they even found the treasures, the officers and soldiers surrounded them.
The most valuable place in the entire Nanyang City was the Prince Tang's Mansion. The thieves knew it, and the officers and soldiers knew it very well. The two groups actually had the same idea.
In terms of robbery, the official army is even more professional than the bandit army. The premise is that no one wants to meet and split in half. There is no room for negotiation between the official army and the palace.
In the Tang Palace alone, the officers and soldiers killed nearly a thousand people and captured more than a thousand people. Finally, they met the county magistrate Yao Yunxi who took the initiative to express his gratitude.
"They are both handsome! I am so ashamed of myself~!"
Yao Yunxi knelt on the ground with runny nose and tears, regretful for his actions. He did not join the rebel army and did what he could. However, the city was still captured and the people in the city were massacred.
"Okay! Mingfu, please get up and talk. Zhang Guoqin has told me the general situation."
Although the officials and military officials in Nanyang tried their best, there was nothing they could do to break the city. Sun Chuanting did not blame Yao Yunxi. As a county magistrate, he could not play much role at all. At most, he could only organize young men to climb the city to help defend.
"Xiaguan is guilty. When the bandits besieged the palace, he burned all the food stored in the palace! He was still unable to stop the prefect Wang Jiazhen from going out to negotiate with the bandits, which resulted in the prefect being killed in the line of duty. Alas..."
Regarding these two things, Yao Yunxi regretted it so much that he either saved the food or the people, but in the end neither the food nor the people were saved.
"Oh? Don't do this in the Ming Dynasty. Tell me first!"
Most of what happened in the city was unknown to Sun Chuanting, and he could only find out through the parties involved, especially whether it could be consistent with what Zhang Guoqin said before, so as not to be deceived by him.
"That's fine, the bandit army this morning..."
Yao Yunxi reported everything he saw, heard and handled personally to Sun Chuanting. Although the other party was a general in charge of the army, he had the title of Prince Shaobao, was approved by the court, and had the authority to handle local affairs.
"……I see!"
Sun Chuanting stroked his beard and listened. There was generally no problem with the parts that overlapped with what Zhang Guoqin said, indicating that part of Zhang Guoqin's narrative was true.
It's a pity that Wang Jiazhen, the prefect of Nanyang, failed to see through the rogue army's plot and died in vain. Furthermore, most of the food stored in the city was burned by the fire, and some had to be allocated from Fancheng.
Some of the military rations carried by Sun Chuanting's troops can be left behind for emergency use by the army in the city. If they want to hold on in the future, they will have to rely on support from Fancheng.
It is estimated that it is impossible to expect relief from Luoyang or Kaifeng. The entire Henan area is currently severely affected, and the areas along the Yellow River are filled with a large number of drifters.
Sun Chuanting could not guarantee whether the convoy transporting food could reach Nanyang safely. In comparison, it was safer to transport food from Fancheng and bring in some defenders by the way.
"Oh! That's right! Commander! The silver! The silver has not been lost yet! It's all hidden in the well of the palace!"
Yao Yunxi finally remembered a good thing, that is, although the previous treasury silver was poured into the well, as long as a large area is excavated, the silver can still be dug out.
This can be regarded as making up for his merits. He did not save the food, but he saved the money. With the money, he can let Sun Shaobao pay the soldiers under his command.
Although Yao Yunxi is a civil servant, he also knows that the most important thing in a war is morale. If he wants his troops to have high morale, they must allocate all the money.
The more than 100,000 taels of silver was not a lot, but it could at least solve Sun Shaobao's urgent need. Yao Yunxi did not know that Sun Chuanting already had no shortage of military pay.
"...Okay, okay! Mingfu is interested! Thank you! Thank you very much!"
After excluding the portion left for the defenders and the settlement of the people, he could still get some money to reward the army. Sun Chuanting did not want so much silver to end up in the hands of the rebels. Fortunately, the rebels' plan failed.
