Chapter 592: Annan's Secret Weapon - War Elephants
Annan is under great pressure. Ju
Especially after receiving the news that all coastal naval forces have been destroyed.
Hu Jiya almost vomited blood.
The originally noisy heart was already a little timid.
In fact, this is not to blame for Hu Jiya's underestimate of the Ming Dynasty. The last war between Annan and the Central Plains was in the early Mongolian Yuan Dynasty a hundred years ago.
And achieved a pretty good comeback victory.
In Hu Jiyou's view, it would be difficult for the Central Plains dynasty to break into the heart of Annan.
When the Mongolian army entered Annam for the first time, they withdrew within nine days.
After three consecutive campaigns and spending a lot of troops and financial resources, they could only retreat in anger. How could the Ming Dynasty be any stronger than the Mongolian army now?
pity.
Although Ming Dynasty's firearms were affected to a certain extent, Annan could not bear it.
In small-scale battles, the lethality of firecrackers is simply dominant.
Even before anyone has touched them, the situation here has already been defeated.
Now Annan can be said to have been surrounded and suppressed by the Ming Dynasty, and Champa City has also begun to mobilize troops to attack Haiyunling.
Perhaps the better news is that when the occupying army attacked, the Ming Dynasty did not provide any help, otherwise Haiyunling would probably have been lost by now.
Right now, there are only many cities left.
Hu Jiyou spent the whole night alone in his room thinking about how to break through the situation in front of him.
In the end, it was sadly discovered that under the powerful siege of the Ming Dynasty, the only way was to defend Duobang City.
"Send an order to the entire army to defend Duobang City!"
The next morning, when the door opened, Hu Jisao ordered in a hoarse voice.
Of the 100,000 forbidden troops in Annan's capital, only 10,000 were retained, and the rest were all sent to the cities of many countries.
And all the more than 400,000 troops in the opposition entered Dobang City.
Among them, Dobang City itself has 40,000 troops stationed there.
Calculated in this way, there are already nearly 600,000 troops.
Not only that, Hu Jiyou used the name of King Annan to mobilize the people of Annan to rally towards Duobang City.
He wanted to block all Annan's troops, all of which were under Dobang City.
I have to say that Hu Ji Ya still has some strategic vision.
He knew very well that once Dobang City was forced, there would be no place for Annan to resist.
For the Ming army, there were too many directions to choose from.
Whether traveling north to Thanh Hoa in the west, heading south to Thang Long in the east, or cleaning the surrounding area, there will be no constraints from Annam.
Duobang City naturally became the most important battle in Annan this time.
.......
Annan Capital Dungeon.
Liu Sheng mocked himself and said, "Although this Hu Jishen rebelled, he probably thought there was no hope of victory."
"After such a long time, our Ming Dynasty's army is about to conquer. In as soon as a month or two, it is estimated that we can directly capture the capital of Annan."
Liu Sheng is not talking nonsense.
Although they were in a dungeon, jailers still came to deliver meals every day.
At the beginning, these jailers were extremely arrogant and did not take Liu Sheng and the others seriously at all.
As time goes by, especially in recent times, it has become more and more polite.
Li Xiucai said: "If my Ming army hadn't come over, these jailers would still have such good tempers, and they would almost fawn over us."
"That's right, our Ming army cannot resist even a small country like Annan. It is estimated that the northern area of Annan will soon be ruled by our Ming army."
"As long as the portal of Dobang City is opened, what else can Annan use to resist."
"These jailers are not fools. They are afraid that we will deal with them later."
Li Xiucai was in a much better mood.
The recent meals have been meaty, which is a rare thing. Even if there is no news, they can infer something from it.
Liu Sheng looked very proud of Li Xiucai and joked: "I don't know which guy it is. He was crying and howling there a few days ago. He said he would be on his way soon."
"For such a big man, he doesn't feel scared."
Li Xiucai's face turned red, and he retorted: "After eating gruel for so long, and then suddenly being given a good meal, I don't think it's a deprivation meal."
"Those guys are also insidious and don't say much. Who knows what they mean."
Liu Sheng chuckled.
There were just the three of them in this dungeon, and they were very bored.
He also admired Zhao Xiucai. Apart from analyzing a few sentences, he was always dull and didn't know what he was thinking.
So I could only make fun of Li Xiucai to pass the time.
The jailer only delivers meals once a day.
It is impossible to eat until you are full, it can only be said that you are hanging on to your life.
Zhao Yuanhong suddenly said: "The jailer who delivered the meal just now can't wait any longer."
"Next time you come here, Li Xiucai, you might be able to find out more about the outside world."
Li Xiucai suddenly pulled up his crotch and made a face: "Why is it me? Wouldn't it be better for any of you to say it?"
After the words fell, Liu Sheng laughed and said: "Although you have taken a temporary job, you are still just a teacher at best. You just sound better."
"I don't know why I arrested you."
"No matter what the discussion is, it's not you who has to say it, but Zhao Xiucai and I."
Li Xiucai was immediately discouraged.
As the saying goes, the first level of officialdom crushes people to death.
In front of Liu Sheng and Zhao Yuanhong, it seems that he can only be regarded as a younger brother.
I was speechless at the moment.
The next day.
A faint light came from the entrance to the dungeon.
Apparently it’s time for today’s meal again.
The meals are delivered on a rotating basis, but in a few months, there are basically only a few of them, so they are relatively familiar with each other.
After the people arrived, Li Xiucai could only ask.
"Hey, little brother, the food treatment here has improved a lot recently. Is it because our Ming army is almost ready?"
Upon hearing this, the jailer's hand trembled slightly.
There was some hesitation, but he didn't speak.
Li Xiucai didn't care and thought to himself: "If the Ming Dynasty seizes the royal capital, all of us will be released. Little brothers, we have to think carefully."
"If something unexpected happens, why don't you tell us? Anyway, we are in this dungeon, and we can't get out without anyone saving us."
"Tell us how much love there is."
The jailer's eyes flickered slightly.
Especially looking at the meat dishes in this bowl, I subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
The food of these prisoners is better and richer than that of the jailers.
Obviously the higher-ups also have their own ideas.
"The Ming army has already reached Duobang City. All the gentlemen in the royal capital have gone out, and so has the prime minister."
After saying this, the jailer did not dare to talk any more and left directly.
When he said this, he had already reached his limit.
And the three of them were finally relieved.
...Beech
Under Duobang City.
The Ming Dynasty's more than 300,000 troops have already been assembled.
However, due to the long journey, the Ming army soldiers basically did not recover their physical strength, so they could only rest for a day before starting the battle.
"I have never been to this place. Compared with the previous passes, this one is relatively good."
"It cannot be easily destroyed by dozens of artillery rounds."
After Chen Heng looked at it carefully, he said to Ye Sheng next to him.
Ye Sheng's eyes were on the tower of Duobang City.
After looking at it for a long time, he said: "It seems that there will be a tough battle tomorrow."
That's what they said, but their tone was not too serious.
Even if it is said that Duobang City, as the northern gateway to Annan, is an important military location.
All the defenses on the city wall were in place, and giant crossbows and artillery were also placed on them. In the eyes of Ye Sheng and Chen Heng, it was not a big problem.
After fighting for a lifetime, if it comes to cavalry conquests, it may be a little worse, but when it comes to siege warfare, the experience is very rich. With the current strength of the troops, defeating it is not a big problem.
Still the same old thing.
The next day started with artillery bombardment.
The power of today's artillery is still very impressive. Every time it hits the city wall, it can make a very obvious hole.
Ye Sheng was not in a hurry and asked the logistics army to use all the artillery and ammunition, even if it was finished, he didn't care.
Rubbles flew across the city wall, the scene was very spectacular, and the city walls were riddled with craters from the Ming army's artillery fire.
After a few rounds, start cleaning up the residue inside the artillery and rest for half an hour before continuing.
The stock of artillery powder is still relatively sufficient.
It lasted from day to night.
Generally speaking, it is rarely said that the army fights at night, but Ye Sheng's side waited until late at night before starting a bombardment again.
Nothing else is needed but to make these soldiers sleep restlessly.
For three or four days in a row, the city of Duobang was in a state of chaos.
Hu Jiya's eyes had turned into two huge dark circles.
"Hu Xiang, why don't you go and take a rest first? These Ming soldiers are very hateful. They keep dragging us like this."
"I don't know when the real attack will happen."
Behind the city wall, a military attache said to Hu Jiya.
Hu Ji Ya only hesitated for a moment, then nodded gently.
In the past three days, the Ming army has always fired a wave of artillery from time to time. The loud noise made it impossible for the soldiers in Duobang City to rest.
This kind of confrontation is inherently tense, and being in this state for a long time can easily lead to neurasthenia.
Hu Jiya did not expect that the Ming army would be so despicable.
Because in the distance, the Ming army had already set up siege ladders, and a wave of siege operations could be carried out at any time.
The siege ladder is not a very long ladder like those in later movies and TV shows, which are all deceptive.
The actual siege ladder is a large box like a chariot with eight wheels underneath. The ladder is more than ten meters high.
At the front of the ladder, there is also a large iron hook.
A city siege tool such as a cloud ladder usually carries some accessories and then assembles it. The height is about the same as the height of the city wall.
When it was time to carry out a siege, a dozen soldiers were pushing the cart quickly below, and there were sword and shield men around to provide cover.
When we got to the city wall, the iron hook hooked the city wall, and with the stability below, it was impossible to say that just a few people could overthrow the ladder.
And now there are more than thirty siege ladders in the Ming army's lineup.
From departure to start, it only takes a stick of incense to hook up the ladder on the opponent's city wall.
What follows is a hand-to-hand battle to seize the city.
The reason why the Ming Dynasty kept bombarding the city wall was to create an illusion and illusion to the soldiers on the opposite wall.
Then he took advantage of his unpreparedness and attacked the city by force.
This night, the moon is dark and the wind is high.
Artillery shelling sounded again outside the city.
The Annan soldiers on the city wall hid behind the corner to prevent themselves from being hurt by the gravel.
"It's almost done, let's take a shot."
Ye Sheng waved with one hand, and the soldier next to him immediately took out his whistle and blew it.
After hearing this sound in the distance, several whistles sounded.
At this time, the artillery was conducting its final round of bombardment.
The sound of the explosion drowned out the whistle, making it difficult for the Annan soldiers on the wall to hear clearly.
More than thirty ladders, driven by the soldiers, quickly rushed towards the city wall.
When the ladder started moving, more than 80,000 pioneer soldiers followed closely behind.
Under the cover of darkness, it was difficult for Annan to see clearly.
Soldiers these days generally suffer from night blindness.
The burning torch on top of the city has become a guide in the darkness.
"Enemy attack!!!"
It is difficult to avoid being discovered at all. After all, a siege weapon like a ladder has a huge target.
When he rushed halfway, he was discovered by Annan soldiers.
"put!!!"
With a loud shout, a new round of artillery fired.
Bombarded the city wall again.
In fact, using artillery at this time can easily cause casualties to your own people. Only soldiers with rich experience and tacit cooperation can dare to use it in this way.
This is for the final cover of the siege ladder.
The battle for the city head has always been the most brutal.
If it were a big city in the Ming Dynasty, Ye Sheng would not dare to play like this.
The defenders have a very strong advantage.
Crossbows, boulders, artillery, and gold juice can easily cause huge casualties.
Human life is of least value at this time.
The first wave of casualties appeared in the Ming army's lineup.
A large number of Ming army soldiers lost their lives before they even got close to the city wall.
Ye Sheng and Chen Heng sat on their horses, looking seriously at the unclear city head.
Compassion does not command troops.
Any such siege battle will inevitably be accompanied by a large number of casualties.
Due to the special geographical location of Duobang City, the purpose of siege cannot be achieved. Now it all depends on the courage and personal force of the soldiers on both sides.
A large number of Ming troops fell down from the ladders. The Annan soldiers only needed to hide on the city wall and stab down with their spears to kill those who climbed up through the ladders.
It doesn't have to be stabbed to death, as long as it falls, it's basically gone.
In this case, it just piles up.
The densely packed Ming army soldiers forced a login battle. As long as they were the first to pass, a melee would break out at the top of the city. After that, more soldiers could enter the city wall through ladders.
The personal strength and overall quality of the Ming army soldiers, including their armor, far exceeded Annan's.
After a stalemate for almost half an hour, the Ming army gradually invaded the city.
However, at this moment, the city gate below suddenly opened, and a long and distant sound sounded.
A huge black shadow began to emerge from the city gate, accompanied by strong vibrations on the ground.