The person who reported the news left Shuikou Mountain Fort and ran straight north.
Luo An saw it through the telescope: "How long will it take?"
"It will probably take more than thirty minutes for them to arrive."
Within Jinyiwei, everyone has begun to use new time units based on the new Huangming Bell.
Luo An put down the telescope, took a deep breath, raised his hand and pointed forward: "Slowly approach!"
Inside the fortress, Zhan Huabi's eyes narrowed.
A mere hundred or so cavalrymen in brocade uniforms began to come eastward along the Xiang River.
Not fast, but they are coming.
"Commander, let me lead my brothers out, kill them, and take revenge!"
Hearing this, Zhan Huabi only turned his head and glanced at Dan Zhaonian.
"It's a good thing to avenge your shame, just to defend the stronghold."
Everyone there is riding a horse. Isn't it obvious that they want to lure the defenders out for a walk?
Zhan Huabi now knew what Dan Zhaonian's true level was.
In the past, there was no fighting at Changde, so you can tell. All the way to Hengzhou Prefecture, it was overwhelming, just bullying the weak.
Now it is clear: this guy is really useless except for being loyal.
There are between 1,000 and 500 guardsmen and thousands of people in Changning County, and the city can be lost in less than an hour.
After saying that, he ordered: "Your people should guard the gap in the outer wall of the west to protect the people. Even if the outer wall cannot be repaired before Chang Ning's army arrives, we should spread more horses to resist the attack."
"...The last general takes orders."
But Zhaonian went with his brothers who had not slept well but were full.
Facing the more than a hundred guards in brocade uniforms, although the peasants were still beating wood and carrying stones with shaking hands and legs, the people in Zhaonian were also nervous and would move around in small steps from time to time.
Zhan Huabi's head hurt when he saw it: Is this just an attempt to avenge shame? Still asking for a fight?
Then his eyes narrowed, and behind the team of Jin Yiwei, more than a hundred riders appeared, speeding up.
It was the team on the other side of the Xiang River.
Instead of going to Changning to bring the army over, you went to the upper reaches of the Xiang River to cross the river to join them?
Seeing that Dan Zhaonian's subordinates and the civilians to the west were already retreating, Zhan Huabi shouted and scolded: "We only have three hundred horses, how dare we attack? Step up the construction!"
The layout of the Shuikou Citadel was not bad to begin with, but after all, it was only built at the end of July in accordance with the standards of slowing down the enemy's speed and consuming the enemy's strength.
Now that Changning County has been lost so quickly, the pressure on Shuikou Castle has increased sharply. Zhan Huabi only hopes to be able to defend here for ten and a half days. More than seven days will be enough to drag the southern army here, and wait until the reinforcements and reinforcements return to Chenzhou and Leiyang. Reinforcements from the south of Hengyang.
But as soon as he finished speaking, the three hundred Jin Yiwei really speeded up and charged this way.
Three hundred cavalry is not too many, but the distance is not far, and these three hundred cavalry are indeed the best among the best brought by Luo An.
The dull sound of horse hoofbeats hammered the anxious hearts of the defenders. Then, the three hundred horsemen gradually dispersed and lined up in three layers, approaching like three iron wires.
There was actually a vague momentum to surround the north of Shuikou Village.
Zhan Huabi laughed angrily and said in a deep voice: "Archers, prepare!"
As soon as they enter the attack range of the arrows, they can launch a round of projectiles first.
It is unheard of for three hundred people to attack nearly two thousand people protected by a wall!
"Xilulu——"
The distance had been shortened to 300 steps, and Zhan Huabi saw that they quickly stopped during the relatively fast charge.
With the spread of these three hundred cavalry, such a synchronized charge showed the strictness of the training.
But what's the point? No matter how much he shows off his skills, it is impossible to frighten the defenders in the stronghold.
...Three hundred steps.
Zhan Huabi made a visual inspection and decided to let the three bowl-mouth cannons on the wall of the village fire one round to boost morale.
It is difficult to cause effective damage, and it is just a waste of ammunition.
But the next moment, he saw a fumbling in the distance, and then the guards in the front row came closer to each other, forming a semicircle facing the west of the village.
Then, the Jin Yiwei in the second row rode forward and approached the first row, assuming a strange posture.
Three hundred steps is still a bit far, and Zhan Huabi can't see clearly.
But he still saw people in the first row working in pairs, lifting a pole between the two horses. Some of the Jinyi guards in the second row took something from the side of the horse and put it on the pole. The second row is also in groups of two, with another person working there with his head down.
Zhan Huabi's scalp suddenly went numb: "Let's fire a shot first!"
It must be another new weapon that makes Changsha Wei suffer!
At three hundred paces, bows and arrows could not pass, nor could the fire blunderbuss in the camp. Only the bowl-mouth blunderbuss might provide some deterrence.
But before they received the order to prepare to fire, in the distance, dozens of explosions sounded almost together.
A fan-shaped rain of bullets hit the west side of the village wall.
But Zhaonian and his men seemed to retreat subconsciously, hiding behind some horses and the half-built village wall.
After a pause, another round of bullets rained over very quickly.
At the same time, three shots were heard from Shuikou Village, and the Wankou gun was fired.
But Zhaonian's men and civilians were trembling all over, and some civilians were already crying and shouting: "General, show mercy, let us advance to the stronghold!"
Zhan Huabi was furious.
As expected, the bowl-mouth blunderbuss had no merit, but although the opponent's new firearm could be fired alternately from the front and rear rows, it obviously couldn't kill the defenders three hundred steps away.
Under their noses, these cowards were trembling, but was one of them injured and killed?
But it was too ugly, especially in front of the other defenders in the stronghold.
Having such rubbish comrades can lower morale a lot.
Zhan Huabi felt that it was a mistake for him to send Dan Zhaonian to plead for war after hearing Dan Zhaonian's request to fight, so he sent him to guard the formation to protect the civilians and build the village wall.
The rate of fire of the bowl-mouth gun was much slower. At this moment, the three hundred Jin Yiwei paused firing and moved forward another twenty steps.
This time, the sound of being hit by projectiles finally sounded on the wall of the village, and someone was finally injured and started wailing below.
Zhan Huabi's face was livid. Could it be that these three hundred Jin Yiwei had to consume a round of bullets from the bowl-mouth gun and the village fire gun first?
"Let them in and wait for the enemy to enter one hundred and fifty steps!" Zhan Huabi ordered through gritted teeth.
He wanted to see how he planned to capture Shuikou Castle with just these three hundred Jinyi Guards!
However, the Jinyiwei only stayed two hundred steps away, and more than fifty people in the rear group dismounted.
The rest of the group no longer fired the new firecrackers, but rode in groups of about a dozen, scattered into dozens of regiments.
Next, there was a louder sound of cannon fire.
Zhan Huabi could see it more clearly: it was a new cannon with an iron frame that could be fired directly on the ground.
The Tiger Crouching Cannon reappeared in the south of Hengyang City, and some of the projectiles were able to cross the wall and blast in.
Dan Zhaonian, who had just returned to the village, rushed back to Zhan Huabi and said in shock: "Captain, I heard this kind of gunfire in Changning County yesterday. It's really powerful..."
Zhan Huabi turned around and slapped them with a big ear-scratcher, and then only ordered: "Let them get within a hundred and fifty steps! A hundred steps will do! Just put up your shield!"
However, the strength of the Tiger Crouching Cannon is that it is easy to move positions. It has absorbed the Portuguese's new artillery concept of the mother-and-child cannon, and its rate of fire is also higher.
Zhan Huabi saw the three hundred Jin Yiwei divided into dozens of groups, flexibly moving their positions after firing two shots, as if teasing them.
But Zhaonian covered his face and hid quietly under the shield set up by his own soldiers.
He looked at Zhan Huabi and felt that he was in a dilemma, with a string getting tighter and tighter.
The Jin Yiwei stayed two hundred steps away, putting on a round from time to time, and just stayed there without coming in.
These two hundred steps have become a distance that is difficult for the weapons of both sides to cross at this point in time and cause greater damage.
But for the defenders in Shuikou Castle, it was very painful to consume too much gunpowder and projectiles.
But for the Jin Yiwei, it was constantly damaging the morale of the defenders in the village.
Chang Ning's army hasn't arrived yet.
After nearly two quarters of an hour of confrontation, the shadow of the army in the direction of Chang Ning finally appeared in the distance.
There was a commotion in the castle.
Zhan Huabi regretted a little. Maybe he should have led his troops out of the camp and directly fought with the more than a hundred Jinyi guards.
However, there is really no room for loss in the south of Hengyang City.
The atmosphere became increasingly depressing, and the army from Chang Ning's direction was gradually approaching to join the three hundred Jin Yiwei.
After Zhan Huabi narrowed his eyes and looked at it for a while, he opened his mouth to encourage morale and said: "There are only a thousand people, so don't panic!"
The war is imminent, there is no point in panic, but everyone is very nervous.
Right under their noses, Chang Ning's thousands of troops in the distance finally merged with three hundred Jin Yiwei, and then they separated into more battle groups.
"Captain, I'm afraid these thousand people have brought more cannons of that kind..." But Zhaonian spoke at the right time, "If we only get closer to a hundred and fifty steps away, I'm afraid..."
Zhan Huabi suddenly drew his knife and walked towards him: "Are you going to mess with my military morale again?"
Seven or eight soldiers surrounded Zhan Huabi and headed towards Dan Zhaonian. Zhan Huabi was really annoyed by his old subordinate.
But Zhaonian seemed to be frightened out of his wits, and hid in the crowd of people under his command: "The general will finally realize that he is wrong, the general will realize that he is wrong..."
"Take good care of me..."
Zhan Huabi hadn't finished scolding him, but Jin Yihua, a hundred households in the outermost "Zhuangyong Camp" in Zhaonian, suddenly yelled: "Brother Dan is telling the truth, you slap him?"
In shock, Zhan Huabi suddenly realized that this did not seem to be the accent of Hengzhou Prefecture.
Then, as if the more than 300 people under Zhaonian had received some signal, their eyes were suddenly blood-red and they entered a desperate state.
With the sound of fire and gunfire everywhere, the more than 20 Changning County recruits led by Jin Yihua actually became one against ten heroes, and Jin Yihua went straight towards Zhan Huabi.
At the same time, the signal seemed to have been accurately received outside the village. Drums were beating everywhere, shouting that the army was approaching, and indeed more cannons were fired.
Because Dan Zhaonian kept forcing Lai Lai, Zhan Huabi only brought a few soldiers with him, and he was too close to Dan Zhaonian's people.
Is this still the defeated army that held the trembling civilians outside the stronghold before?
Zhan Huabi knew why they were fighting so hard now.
He couldn't figure it out, but Zhaonian had been following him for more than ten years, why was this happening?
Unfortunately, we were attacked from both sides.
There was chaos in the Shuikou Mountain Fortress, but Zhaonian's more than 300 soldiers and Zhan Huabi's 500 soldiers and the original defenders fought really bloody battles.
But at this moment, there are still more than a thousand people outside rushing towards Shuikou Mountain Fort under the cover of the Crouching Tiger Cannon.
All three hundred Jin Yiwei have mounted their horses, and the cannon has been handed over to the people behind for use.
Only two hundred steps away, the chaos here has just begun, and the three hundred riders over there will arrive in the blink of an eye.
In the midst of chaos, the Shuikou Cottage Fort once again staged the big drama of the gate being opened, and Zhan Huabi's heart sank.
"Commander of the Jinyi Guards, Luo An, is here! Your Majesty has a decree. The soldiers abandon their weapons and surrender without dying. Whoever captures Zhan Huabi alive has merit and no fault!"
No matter how you deal with it later, the most important thing to do now is to focus on your heart.
The artillery fire in the distance does not matter who is a friendly force or an enemy force in the stronghold.
Zhan Huabi only had time to glance at Luo An from a distance when he saw the elite cavalrymen led by him rushing in fearlessly.
Among this group of people, he also saw familiar faces, He Quanan, Huang Yanzhong and Si Cong who were on the Qingye Bridge in the north of Hengyang City.
Outside the stronghold, those thousands of people from Chang Ning were obviously originally their own soldiers.
Now, they are beating themselves up.
And Dan Zhaonian, who lost Chang Ning due to cowardice and cowardice, and Pu Zitong, under the dual pressure of dissatisfaction and scruples, suggested that he should defend the southern front, was unparalleled in his bravery at this moment.
In Zhan Huabi's heart, all mothers ascended to heaven.
…
In two days, Puzitong felt like falling into the eighteenth level of hell.
Now, a difficult decision must be made.
Shuikou Village was also lost, and Zhan Huabi was captured alive among the attacks from the south.
Should we retake Shuikou Village, or should we wait for the imperial army to surround us on all sides and cut off the line of Leishui in the south?
This knife penetrates Changning and Shuikou Village. How will Ningxi Institute and Chenzhou Prefecture choose?
Before he could make a decision, nearly a thousand ships of various sizes appeared downstream of the confluence of the Xiang River and the Xiang River in the direction of Hengshan City.
Gu Shilong's army was preparing to cross the river and attack.
Pu Zitong looked far away from the Zhanyue Gate, gritted his teeth and said: "Hengyang City is not that easy to attack, so what if we attack it from three sides! Shuikou Mountain must be taken back!"
He could no longer wait for what Luo An said in that letter: Next, I will go to Leiyang.
If Leiyang is lost, Hengyang City will become an isolated city.
"If the defenders outside the city on the east, west and north sides are unable to stop them, they will withdraw into the city and defend against the wall! You will lead 3,000 people and use all the troops from the fortresses along the way to recapture Shuikou Mountain!"
After this incident, although Zhan Huabi's men were all under the command of Pu Zitong, Pu Zitong could not rest assured that they would take back Shuikou Mountain again.
To leave them to continue to guard the west of the city, they need more trustworthy people to supervise them and enhance their control.
Those who go to seize Shuikou Mountain can only be the direct descendants who guard the gates in the east of the city.
"Yan Daniu, I have ordered you to be the commander-in-chief of the right army. You will reorganize the rebel army and guard the east of the city. You will join the Lei Shui Camp to attack the enemy crossing the river to the east at any time!"
"...The last general takes command!"
Yan Chunsheng had been working hard in the west of the city for so long, and finally became one of the giants in the Hengyang City garrison.
Now, his brothers can reunite.
After controlling the defense of the east defenders of the city, Yan Chunsheng looked at Pu Zitong, who had a serious face and went to intimidate and gather Zhan Huabi's men.
If I keep messing around, I can become the leader of the rebels, right?
(End of chapter)
