PS: Thanks to book friends 20181222204728205 and Li Zhenxiu for their rewards.
"General, look!" A soldier beside Huang An pointed at the outside of the city eagerly, "It's the black flag of the tiger-shaped flag army."
As his words fell, many people around him looked in the direction he pointed.
A large black flag appeared in the sight of everyone on the top of the city.
Along with the appearance of the big flag, the army of tiger-shaped flags appeared on the road outside Xinpingbao City.
"I'm afraid there is a battalion of soldiers and horses." A soldier on the top of the city said subconsciously.
The tiger-shaped flag army of more than 2,000 people was approaching Xinping Fort step by step. Behind the army, artillery carts and cannons appeared in the eyes of the defenders on the top of the city.
Huang An's face was as gloomy as water.
He was not the guard of Xinping Fort at that time, but he had already heard that the Tiger Flag used cannons to destroy the city wall, causing Xinping Fort to fall into the hands of the Tiger Flag. In the end, the court had to appoint Liu Heng as the guard of Xinping Fort.
And he took over the position of defender of Xinpingbao from Liu Heng.
Seeing that Huang An's expression was not good, the soldiers on the side comforted him and said, "General, please be at ease. Maybe the tiger-character flag army in front of us is going to the grassland. It just passes by our Xinping Fort and may not attack the city."
"I hope so!" Huang An pursed his lips.
Once the tiger-shaped flag army appeared outside Xinpingbao City, he had no confidence in defending Xinpingbao. Just the cannons brought by the opponent, there was no corresponding restraint method in Xinpingbao City.
Because there is not a single cannon in Xinping Fort.
It had happened before. Since he took over the position of guard of Xinping Fort, all the cannons in the city were taken to the grassland by the tiger-character flag, and not a single cannon was left for him.
Of course, it's not that he doesn't want to keep those cannons, but that those cannons are not registered in the register. They belong to the Tiger Banner and have nothing to do with the General's Mansion in Xinping Fort.
One mile away from Xinping Fort, the tiger-character banner army suddenly stopped.
More than a dozen cannons were pushed to the front of the formation.
Huang An, who was standing on the top of the city and looking outside the city, saw this scene and his expression suddenly changed.
If there was any luck before, the Tiger-Character Banner would not attack Xinpingbao. Now seeing the Tiger-Character Banner army pushing the cannon to within one mile of the Xinpingbao City Gate, the slightest trace of luck in my heart completely disappeared.
The signs in front of them were enough to prove that the Tiger-Character Banner army outside the city was not passing by, but was going to attack Xinping Fort.
"General, it's better to take shelter under the city wall first!" The soldiers standing aside persuaded Huang An to get down from the city wall.
As a soldier around Huang An, he knew very well what the armaments of Xinping Fort were. He knew that there was nothing in Xinping Fort to clamp down on the cannons outside the city.
Once the Tiger Banner army bombarded Xinping Fort, the people on the top of the city had no other way to deal with it except to avoid it.
Huang An looked hesitant.
He was determined to go to the city walls to avoid the incoming bombardment as his own soldiers said, but he was worried that if he climbed down the city wall, it would damage the morale of the defenders.
"General, don't hesitate. If you don't leave, the enemy will probably fire." The soldier on the side urged.
At this time, outside Xinpingbao City, the gunners around a dozen four-pound cannons were busy making preparations for the war.
Huang An bit his lip and finally said, "Let's go and catch the spies left in the city by the Tiger Flag."
He made an excuse, turned around and led people away from the city wall.
Before leaving, he arranged for his lieutenants to take over the defense on the city.
A quarter of an hour passed.
The dozen or so cannons outside the city were almost ready. Next to each four-pounder was a gunner holding a torch.
"Deputy battalion commander, the artillery team has been prepared and can launch an attack at any time." Li Shaoyang glanced at the flag given by the artillery team and then said to Du Yan.
Du Yan held a monocular and looked at the soldiers walking on the top of Xinpingbao City, and said coldly: "Tell the artillery team to come first and say hello to the soldiers in the city."
Li Shaoyang nodded after hearing this.
Then, he said to the commanding flag officer on the side: "Do as the deputy battalion said, let the artillery team say hello to the soldiers of Xinpingbao."
After receiving the order, the orderly soldier jumped onto the cart nearby, waved the two order flags in his hand, and notified the artillery team through flag language.
boom! boom! boom!
The artillery team received the order and fired all the four-pounders.
Cannonballs flew from the barrel to the Xinping Fort on the opposite side.
After the gunner's testing and setting, even though the first round of shelling was just a test firing, all but a few of the dozen or so cannons hit the wall of Xinpingbao, and the remaining cannons either landed on the top of the city or crossed the city wall. Smash into the houses behind the city wall.
Huang An, who was hiding under the city, saw with his own eyes that the residential house in front of him collapsed. Most of the roof and one wall collapsed, splattering large amounts of dust.
"General, let's change places!" the soldier next to him said with trembling lips.
Just now, they wanted to take shelter in the house in front of them, but now they couldn't help but be glad that they didn't hide inside, otherwise they would have been buried underneath.
"Good morning, I've long heard that the Tiger Flag's cannons are powerful. I didn't expect them to be so powerful. Where are the reinforcements? When will they arrive?" Huang An turned pale with fright and grabbed the soldiers beside him with both hands.
Although he had dealt with the Tiger Character Banner when they were in Lingqiu, this was the first time he faced the Tiger Character Flag's shelling. His little courage disappeared completely amid the sound of the artillery and the collapsed houses.
The soldier who was caught by Huang An's arms hurriedly said: "General, don't worry. As soon as we find traces of the Tiger Flag army, we have already sent people to Datong Mansion to deliver the message. Reinforcements will definitely arrive in a few days at most."
"We can't wait any longer. The tiger-character flag won't give us time to wait for reinforcements." Huang An shook his head.
Facing such a bombardment, he no longer had the confidence to withstand until dark, let alone the reinforcements that would arrive in a few days.
"What do you mean, general?" the soldier asked hesitantly.
Huang An hesitated for a moment and said, "You said that I will open the city gate now and rest assured that the Tiger Flag army will enter the city. Will they accept my surrender?"
"It's hard for me to say this, general, but once you open the city gate and surrender to the Tiger Flag, the imperial court may not be able to communicate with you." The soldier said to Huang An.
The meaning in the words is obvious.
Once they surrender to the Tiger-Character Banner, it will be tantamount to betraying the Ming Dynasty. Huang An and the Huang family will never be tolerated by the Ming Dynasty court again.
"It's just a shitty job. If you keep guarding, I will lose my life. In the worst case, my whole family will have to live on the grassland." Huang An made up his mind.
Even if Xinping Fort could be defended, he would not surrender to the Tiger-Character Banner. In fact, this round of shelling made him understand that Xinping Fort could not be defended and he would not be able to wait for reinforcements.
"My subordinates swear to follow the general to the death."
Several soldiers around him bowed to Huang An.
The retainers are the military commander's personal soldiers. For them, they are loyal to the military commander personally, not to the court.
