Tianchengwei suddenly closed the city gate, causing the imperial troops outside the city to panic immediately.
Many guardsmen and horses who had not been able to enter the city crowded in front of the city gate, begging the people in the city to open the city gate and let them into the city.
"Send the order and clear out all the imperial soldiers and horses outside the city." Liu Qingzhou, who was riding on horseback, pointed at the imperial soldiers and horses fleeing for their lives in the Tiancheng Guard City and said.
The cavalry of the Tiger Character Banner did not come, only ordinary soldiers were dispatched.
Two teams of about a thousand people each, like two big hands, advanced towards the Tiancheng Guard Gate from both sides.
In order to ensure that the formation was not chaotic, the two teams marched not very fast.
The imperial soldiers and horses piled up in front of the gate of Tiancheng Guard City saw the army of tiger-shaped flags advancing little by little, which made many people become even more impatient.
Some people in front of the city gate slapped the city gate hard, shouting constantly, and even more insults.
It's a pity that the people inside the city ignored the imperial soldiers and horses who were locked outside the city gate, and allowed these people to beat the city gate wantonly. The people inside had no intention of letting those outside into the city.
As the two soldiers and horses of the Tiger Flag got closer and closer, some of the people blocked outside the city began to leave the city gate and flee along the city wall.
Before the gates of Tiancheng Guard could be opened again, more and more imperial soldiers and horses remaining outside the city began to flee for their lives.
Only a few hundred steps away from Tianchengwei's city gate, the two tiger-character flag soldiers and horses advancing forward stopped and began to chase the fleeing imperial soldiers and horses.
"The guards in the city are really cruel. So many people said they were not allowed to enter the city, so they won't be allowed to enter the city." Liu Qingzhou put down the monocular telescope in his hand and raised the corner of his mouth in a mocking tone.
Staff officer Ji Kui, who was also riding on horseback next to him, said with a smile: "The city's guard would rather abandon so many soldiers and horses and rush to close the city gate, which shows that he is afraid of our tiger-character flag. This It’s a good thing.”
"It's a pity that we didn't bring cannons, otherwise we would have attacked the city now." Liu Qingzhou looked at the Tiancheng Guards City in front of him and licked his lips with the tip of his tongue.
Because of the heavy weight of the cannon, even if there is a gun carriage, it cannot travel too fast.
As the forward battalion of the army, in order to reach Tiancheng Guard earlier, the entire camp did not carry a single cannon, only some squatting tiger cannons that were easy to carry.
The characteristics of the Tiger Crouching Cannon meant that it could not be used in siege. If you wanted to siege a city, you could only rely on four-pound cannons and six-pound cannons with sufficient power and range.
Ji Kui said: "Deputy Division Chief Gao and the others should arrive tomorrow, and the artillery team and artillery will follow. In one day at most, Tiancheng Guard will fall into the hands of our Tiger Flag."
Looking from a distance, Tianchengwei's city wall is far less tall and thick than Xinpingbao's city wall, and it is obviously in disrepair. There are even cracks in one of the walls not far from the city gate.
He could see clearly that such a city wall could not withstand a few rounds before it collapsed.
"Before Deputy Master Gao and the others come, we can't be idle and send out several teams to clean up the resistance forces outside the city first," Liu Qingzhou said.
Ji Kui nodded and said: "We arrived too suddenly. There should be a lot of soldiers and horses from the guard station stranded outside the city. Taking care of these people can also clear the way for the army that will come later."
In addition to the two thousand-man teams that had been sent out, Liu Qingzhou sent another thousand-man team to pursue and suppress the soldiers and horses of the villages and guards around Tiancheng Guard.
A guard station has more than 5,000 soldiers and horses, and it has the Thousand Household Station and the Hundred Household Station under its jurisdiction. The Tiancheng Guard combines two guard stations and should have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in name.
After so many years of development, the number of military households has naturally increased, but the number of soldiers and horses in the entire Tiancheng Guard has become smaller and smaller, with many having only one name on the roster.
The number of military households has increased, but the number of registered soldiers and horses has decreased, and these military households are all the hundreds, thousands, and even tenant farmers of the guards.
These military households living in the guardhouses have no chance to receive military training. They have even only farmed for several generations and have long forgotten how to fight.
There are only a handful of soldiers and horses that the entire guard can fight.
In Tiancheng Acropolis.
"Commander Wang, what do you think I should do? Even you and Commander Yang are no match for these bandits. I am afraid that with my few troops, I am no match for them." Zhou Tong looked flustered.
He had no confidence at all in defending the city.
As the commander of the Tiancheng Guard, he knew the situation of the Tiancheng Guard very well. The city wall was in disrepair for a long time. When he broke it with his hands, the dirt fell down. It was not enough to rely on to defend the city, and the bandits came so often. Suddenly, the city was not prepared at all.
He was not optimistic at all that he could defend the city at his feet.
Wang Bao, who had a dark face on the side, said: "Commander Zhou, don't worry too much. I admit that the soldiers and horses of the Tiger Flag are powerful in field battles, but it is not that easy to attack the city. There are thousands of troops in the city that can be used." Come and defend the city.”
"The troops that defend the city are sufficient, but the things that defend the city are not prepared. If the bandits attack the city, we are not prepared at all." Zhou Tong said with a bitter look on his face.
Wang Bao said: "It's not too late to prepare now. After all, there are only a few thousand bandits outside the city. They should be the vanguard army sent by the bandits. They may not attack the city for a while."
"Please ask Mr. Wang to teach me what to do next?" Zhou Tong looked at Wang Bao with pleading eyes.
Hearing such words, Wang Bao felt disgusted.
The dignified commander of the Tiancheng Guard actually had to be taught how to defend the city, which was a disgrace to their generals.
But at this time, he knew that it was not the time to care about this. The top priority was to hold Tiancheng Guard and wait for the messenger to bring reinforcements from Datong Mansion.
"If Commander Zhou can trust me, why not leave the command to me? How about Commander Zhou just sit in the rear and help me check for leaks and fill the gaps?" In order to prevent Zhou Tonghui from giving random orders in the middle of the city defense, Wang Bao offered Take control of the city.
When Zhou Tong heard this, he was not only not angry, but said happily: "The rank of the lower official is not as good as that of General Wang. He should be commanded by General Wang himself."
His own family knew his own affairs. He, the commander, was bought with money. He knew how to make money, but he didn't understand anything about fighting and defending against the enemy.
Zhou Tong faced Wang Bao, clasped his fists in his hands, and said: "Next, we have to defend the city, General Wang."
The two of them were the commander of the Datong Guard and the commander-in-chief of the Xuan Mansion. They were not subordinate to each other in name. In Tiancheng Guard, Zhou Tong did not have to give Wang Bao any face.
But it was different now. He knew that defending the city depended on Xuanfu's troops.
As the commander of Tianchengwei, he knew very well what kind of virtues the soldiers and horses of Tianchengwei had.
I am afraid that there are not even two thousand soldiers in the guard station who can fight.
Facing the massive defeat of the two border armies of Xuanfu and Datong, he didn't even have the slightest confidence to defend the Tiancheng Guard.
If Wang Bao and thousands of Xuanfu troops were not in the city, he would have abandoned the city and fled.
