In the Ming army camp, Gao Jie looked in pain, but he did not dare to say a word.
A quarter of his team had suffered casualties and was on the verge of collapse.
If he hadn't made a big deal for his generals, promising that after victory, he could get an official position in the Ming Dynasty.
From then on, they ceased to be rebels and became officers and soldiers.
These people also knew that they were in the Ming army camp, and if they dared to resist, there would be no good end.
Gao Jie's army can barely hold on now, but if the casualties are greater, it will definitely collapse.
Jin Guo noticed the way Lu Xiangsheng looked at him and thought that Lu Xiangsheng was planning to let him attack Mengjin County.
He stood up directly, knelt down on one knee, and said with a sad expression: "Master Lu, our army really can't attack the city anymore.
One-third of the soldiers have been killed or injured, and everyone is close to collapse and unable to go to the battlefield again.
Even if you chop off my head, they won't go to the battlefield again.
Forcing people like us to go to the battlefield will easily lead to camp roars."
Jin Guoqi also wanted to make meritorious deeds, and he could clearly feel that the resistance against the rebels in Mengjin County was getting weaker and weaker.
As long as he works harder, he is likely to obtain a great military merit.
But there is really no way now, the soldiers under his command are on the verge of collapse.
Let them attack the city again, a task with extremely high mortality rate, and the army is likely to turn back.
Lu Xiangsheng could also see that these traditional Ming armies were close to collapse.
His glance just now did not mean that Jin Guoqi's troops would attack the city again.
If a camp roar really occurs, the siege strategy will be ineffective and the rebels in the city will have a chance to escape.
His hard work in besieging the city for so long was in vain.
Even if Mengjin County is captured and Li Zicheng is not captured or killed, the war will not be considered complete.
Lu Xiangsheng looked at Gao Jie and asked, "General Gao, what do you think of the rebel situation in the city?"
Gao Jie replied tremblingly: "Master Lu, Li Zicheng purchased more than two million taels of firearms from the thief in yellow.
The thieves in yellow are extremely evil when selling firearms, which leads to the fact that there are not many firearms in Mengjin City.
We also captured the Yellow River, and the yellow thief's cargo ship was unable to sell firearms to Mengjin County.
The firearms in the city were used less and less.
Based on the intensity with which Li Zicheng defended the city, I estimate that there are not many firearms left in the city.
From the fact that the rebels did not use a large number of grenades and explosive shells during our siege this time, we can see that their firearms have reached the bottom.
Another point is that the rebels did not have many raw materials for making gunpowder.
Especially sulfur, you have to buy it from thieves in yellow at a high price.
Now I predict that the rebels in the city may not be able to produce gunpowder.
The cannons on the city wall don't have cannonballs, but they can also fire shotguns using stones and iron sand.
The cannons of the thieves in yellow are of excellent quality. Many of the cannons have just been purchased and are not easily damaged.
Now the firing frequency of the cannons in the city is extremely low, I guess it is because they are out of gunpowder."
Lu Xiangsheng nodded, and he agreed with Gao Jie's guess.
He discussed with Sun Chuanting about attacking Mengjin County.
Sun Chuanting looked at this situation and said: "We can try to launch a general attack. The rebels don't have many shells and grenades left.
These two weapons are the most lethal to our army.
There was no gunpowder for the cannons at the top of the city. We almost rushed to the top of the city several times.
This is not like a rebel strategy to lure the enemy."
"Then we will launch a general offensive tomorrow to test the situation of the rebels in Mengjin County.
If there are still a large number of firearms in the hands of the rebels, we will continue to besiege the city and consume the firearms in the hands of the rebels.
If the rebels don't have many firearms, they can launch a general attack and capture Mengjin County.
The imperial court spent a long time in the small county of Mengjin County against our two armies.
Many officials have criticized us, saying that we waste money and waste money to support the invaders."
Lu Xiangsheng was also preparing to launch a general offensive.
It was really difficult to achieve anything in Ming Dynasty. There were countless people holding him back.
…………………………
Li Zicheng looked a little crazy when he saw the Ming army's massive attack.
"Cannon, blast me with explosive shells."
Li Guo stood aside and said cautiously: "King Chuang, we attacked Gaojie a few days ago and have used up all the explosive ammunition.
Now only the solid iron balls and cannonballs are left, but the gunpowder is almost gone.”
Li Zicheng pulled out his knife and split the table in front of him in half.
"You can't make the flowering bullets, and you can't make the gunpowder yet.
Go tell those craftsmen that they can't produce gunpowder, and I'll kill them all."
Li Guo frowned and said, "King Chuang, craftsmen can prepare gunpowder. The gunpowder we used before was prepared by these craftsmen.
But the main problem now is that there is no raw material for gunpowder.
Charcoal is relatively plentiful, and there are plenty of rolling logs and firewood in the city.
Nitrogen can also be produced by using manure to pile nitrate, but sulfur is too difficult to handle.
There is sulfur here in Henan, but our stored sulfur has been exhausted and sulfur from outside cannot be transported in.
It’s hard for a clever woman to cook without rice, and even the gods can’t make gunpowder without sulfur.”
Li Zicheng raised the knife in his hand and looked at the Ming army who had rushed to the city.
They are using artillery to block it, but here in Dongcheng, only three or four artillery fire are fired.
The other artillery pieces were in good condition, but without gunpowder, the artillery pieces were just scrap metal.
"If we can't prepare gunpowder, we'll kill a batch first.
Let these craftsmen think of a way. If they can't think of a way, they will kill a batch of them every day."
Li Zicheng stood on the top of the city with his old soldiers.
"These firearms are not good, they rely too much on external objects, and they will fail sooner or later.
The invading army must use its own strength to defend this city."
Li Zicheng regretted extremely that he had listened to the praise of his subordinates and was dazzled by the victory.
If he could withdraw from the city in time and lead his troops to the mountains, there would still be hope for him to rise again.
By the time he realized that the situation was wrong, the Ming army had already laid siege to the city.
Li Zicheng looked at the extremely strong golden juice on top of the city.
There were also soldiers holding crossbows and preparing for the invasion.
He, Li Zicheng, can defend Mengjin County with only this traditional method, and he must defend it.
…………………………
When Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting saw the rebels in Mengjin County, the frequency of firearm firing had been reduced to a minimum.
The rebels have begun to defend the city with traditional rolling logs, stones, gold juice and bows and arrows.
Sun Chuanting said with a smile: "It seems that the rebels have no gunpowder and they are using this traditional method to defend the city.
We will definitely be able to capture Mengjin County today and try our best to capture the insurgent king Li Zicheng alive."
Lu Xiangsheng ordered: "Tianxiong Army, launch a general attack!"
Sun Chuanting happily sent an order: "Guan Ning Army, once again show your strength, the general attack begins."
"Master Lu, let's compete to see who can rush into Mengjin County first."
“Let’s compare, this war lasted almost a year.
If the thieves in yellow hadn't supported these rebels, I would have taken it down long ago.
The thieves in yellow are the most serious concern of the imperial court.
After we destroy the rebel thieves and cultivate for a period of time, we will face the thieves in yellow."
"Master Lu, don't worry too much. The soldiers will stop you, and the water will cover you.
I believe that the princes in the court do not want to see the thieves in yellow raging across the Ming Dynasty, and they will definitely give us some support."
Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting still had time to discuss how to deal with the thieves in yellow in the future.
Tianxiong Army and Guan Ning Army have launched a general attack on Mengjin County.
The Hongyi artillery brought by the two armies kept hitting the city wall of Mengjin County.
The city wall made of reinforced concrete is extremely hard, and the power of these cannonballs did not even make a small crater.
The artillery shells were directly bounced away, and some even hit the Ming army that was attacking the city.
Seeing this situation, the Ming army's artillery no longer dared to fire artillery to attack the city.
Knowingly knowing that the soldier was holding a loaded musket in one hand and a ladder in the other, he faced the invading army's bows and arrows.
They rushed towards the Mengjin city wall.
A large number of ladders are directly stuck on the Mengjin city wall.
Tianxiong's army and Guan Ning's army roared, and they stepped on the ladder to attack the top of the city wall.
A musketeer climbed halfway up, and he saw a soldier from the invading army crawling out of the city wall, preparing to shoot an arrow.
It leaned directly on the ladder and fired lead bullets from the guns in both hands.
After the soldier was shot, he screamed and fell against the city wall.
The golden juice in his hand fell on the city wall and splashed out in all directions.
The Ming soldier who fired the gun was hit by a rolling log and fell from the ladder. His life or death was unknown.
Lu Xiangsheng watched the Tianxiong Army attack the city. A large number of Tianxiong Army were on the ladder and were hit by the defensive weapons of Mengjin County.
Those who fell to the ground were constantly hit by rolling logs and rocks. Except for the extremely lucky people, no one could survive.
That's what siege is like, you have to take several times more casualties in exchange for final victory.
The current siege situation is very beneficial to the Ming army.
As long as there is more force and the Ming army reaches the top of Mengjin County, the morale of the rebels will inevitably collapse.
Fierce drumbeats continued to sound, and the Tianxiong Army and Guan Ning Army launched waves of charges.
With each charge, they were closer to reaching Mengjin County.
This made the morale of the Ming army soldiers extremely high.
All the Ming army generals felt that they could capture Mengjin County as long as they worked harder.
The invading army on top of the city became extremely frustrated.
Their military strength was insufficient to begin with. They were able to defend Mengjin County in the past only by relying on the powerful firearms purchased from Hanzhong.
Now that the gunpowder has been used up, even the craftsmen who made the gunpowder were killed by King Chuang.
They now only rely on traditional bows and crossbows to defend the city.
The number was not as large as that of the Ming army, and the people in the city could not be allowed to help defend the city.
These people hated them so much that they gnashed their teeth and held knives to their necks, but they would not defend the city.
Once you make a big fuss on top of the city, you will definitely lose.
Li Zicheng saw several Ming soldiers coming up on the city wall in front of him.
They climbed onto the city wall and immediately opened fire.
"Li Guo, hurry up and kill them. We can't let the Ming army climb the city wall."
The artillery was out of gunpowder, but the rifle corps still retained a certain amount of gunpowder.
After Li Guo heard King Chuang's order, he immediately used rifled guns to attack the Ming army who climbed onto the city wall.
When he first started doing this, it worked very well.
However, as more and more Ming soldiers climbed onto the city wall, the soldiers defending the city retreated steadily.
You can't pose much of a threat to Li Guo's rifle team.
"King Chuang, our old brothers will escort you, and we will rush out of Mengjin County together.
We can no longer defend this place, and there is no way to drive the Ming army off the city now.
When the invading Ming army opens the gates of Mengjin County, we will not be able to escape."
When Li Zicheng saw that nothing could be done, he immediately took Li Guo and the soldiers from the old camp to prepare to rush out of Mengjin County.
If they can survive this time, they have earned something. If they cannot survive, that is God's will.
Liu Zongmin was guarding the south gate, and Li Zicheng and others were preparing to meet him at the south gate.
As soon as they arrived at the south gate, they saw intruders and shouted in a panic: "The city is broken, the Ming army has entered."
Li Zicheng stopped an invading soldier and asked, "Have you seen General Liu Zongmin?"
"General Liu Zongmin, he was shot to death by the Ming army."
"What?"
Li Zicheng was shocked. He did not expect Liu Zongmin to be killed by the Ming army.
"King Chuang, the south gate has been occupied by the Ming army. Let's break out from the west gate."
Li Guo saw that Li Zicheng looked a little dull, so he immediately pulled Li Zicheng and ran towards the west gate.
They came from the east city gate. The north city gate was a fort and was still on the river. They didn't have a boat, so they couldn't escape.
The south city gate was occupied by the Ming army again, and the only way to survive now was to rush out through the west city gate.
When Li Zicheng and others ran towards the west gate.
The Ming troops who rushed in from the east gate and south gate had already controlled the situation at the city gate.
They were the first to capture the cannon on top of the city.
The Ming army then rushed into Mengjin County and attacked all the invading soldiers with weapons.
As soon as Li Zicheng ran to the West City Gate, he saw an elite Ming army opening the West City Gate.
Armed with muskets, they had defeated the invading troops guarding the west city.
When Li Guo saw this situation, he knew he had to fight hard.
A large number of Ming troops have already poured in from the east gate and south gate.
If they could not break through the west gate, they would be blocked in Mengjin County by the Ming army.
In this small town, there is no way to hide, and you will be caught sooner or later.
Li Guo shouted loudly: "Whether we can survive or not depends on the next battle. Everyone has their bayonets fixed. We will fight the Ming army."
The riflemen led by Li Guo fired a volley at the approaching Ming army.
The Ming army on the opposite side also spotted them, and the musketeers of the Tianxiong army fired back.
The Chuang army and the Ming army suffered casualties from each other, but the Ming army's musketeers were constantly replenished.
Due to the destruction of the city, the invading army lost its unified command, and there were only less than a few hundred musketeers left around Li Guo.
The general of the Tianxiong Army encountered fierce resistance from the rebels, and he immediately realized that he had encountered a big fish.
Ordinary rebels will never resist fiercely after the city is broken.
"Bring the cannon over and let me blast it."
Tianxiong's army fired at each other with muskets, but they could not do anything to Li Guo's musketeers, and the two armies fell into a stalemate.
The general of the Tianxiong Army immediately dragged the cannon over, loaded it with shotgun shells, and fired directly at the anti-traitor formation.
Li Zicheng saw the Ming army dragging in cannons, but they could not escape.
During the stalemate between them and the Ming army, the Ming army from other directions had already attacked here.
The Ming army's artillery fired, and dense iron eggs flew towards the Chu army's formation.
Li Zicheng's pro-army troops immediately surrounded Li Zicheng, and they used their bodies to block Li Zicheng's shells.
After the sound of the cannon, Li Zicheng's body was dyed red. It was not clear whether it was his blood or the blood of the new recruits.
Li Guo's musketry team and the soldiers from the old camp who broke into the camp suffered heavy casualties after being bombarded.
The Ming troops who entered from the four city gates have gathered here, and they launched an attack at the same time.
Someone recognized Li Zicheng and did not attack with muskets and cannons.
They prepared to capture Li Zicheng alive and sent people to attack with swords and guns.
Li Zicheng brandished the sword in his hand and killed dozens of people until he was exhausted and captured by the Ming army.
When Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting received the news that the Ming army had completely occupied Mengjin County, they both had smiles on their faces.
Lu Xiangsheng asked: "Are you sure you want to capture Li Zicheng? Alive or dead?"
"Master Lu, he is still alive and has been tied up by Wu Hua Da."
"Immediately send someone to take him to the capital. Emperor Chongzhen can't wait to see Li Zicheng.
The army immediately sealed off Mengjin County and would not let anyone in the city go."
Lu Xiangsheng eliminated the largest rebel bandit in Henan.
A relaxed smile appeared on his face, Henan was finally calm.
To the west of the Ming Dynasty military camp, Gao Jie's face was ashen.
When he was sent to attack the city, the troops suffered heavy casualties.
When they perform meritorious service, they are sent to the outermost areas and receive no credit at all.
He suddenly saw a group of extremely embarrassed Guan Ning Army cavalry in front of him. They were running towards here on horseback.
There was still a command flag on the horse's head, and he was not wearing any armor.
At first glance, it was the messenger of the Ming army. Looking at his frightened expression, what happened?