After Li Xuan's order was conveyed, the bandits in Huangzhushan also began to prepare. However, the preparations could not be completed in an hour and a half. Even if it was faster, it would take several hours. After all, they had to build a ladder and so on.
Engineering equipment must also be used to test the strength of the city's defenses, find weak points, and even fill in the moat under the city wall. These all take time.
And it is already three or four o'clock in the afternoon, which means that even if all preparations go well, we will have to wait until tomorrow to launch a large-scale siege.
But it should be noted that Li Xuan and the others did not really capture Zhengtai County, so to a certain extent, there is no need to put a lot of effort into making too detailed preparations. They can just do some face-saving work, and this way they can gain an hour.
A formal siege campaign can be launched within a few seconds.
The reason why he was anxious to attack the city in the afternoon was because he considered what unexpected changes would happen during the evening. After all, Li Xuan didn't even know where the main force of the Ming army had disappeared. If it were not far away,
If we can kill him tonight, we will be in danger of being attacked from both sides.
"Everyone move, and be more agile with your hands and feet. We will scare the grandsons who formed the group to death, and we will leave after the beating!" Huang Xueren in the front said to his subordinates who were making preparations.
He told the young bandits in the baggage team very bluntly that they were just pretending to scare the Ming army in the city, and had no intention of actually fighting. They would leave after the fight and would not spend the night under the city.
Because Huang Xueren himself was a bandit leader, and at the same time, there are a large number of old bandits in the baggage team responsible for baggage logistics. He knows very well what these old bandits think.
It's not impossible to fight a war, but it must be a battle with a favorable wind, where one's side has a high probability of winning or a small loss.
As for the kind of combat mission that obviously involves death, they would not do it even if they were killed.
So if Huang Xueren dared to tell the bandits below that today they were going to chew off the hard bones of Zhengtai County and let the soldiers risk huge casualties to charge into the city, the bandits would stage a mutiny on the spot.
What a joke, you asked me to die!
Secondly, he also made it clear that he would leave after the fight and would never stay overnight under the city. This made everyone even happier. After all, everyone knew that it was very dangerous under the city of Zhengtai County. It was fine when he first arrived, but if he had stayed longer
One night, you might not know that you would find yourself surrounded by the Ming army when you wake up tomorrow.
So just vote and leave, which is in line with most people’s inner thoughts!
The people led by Huang Xueren are all old bandits and young men, so mobilizing them is naturally more troublesome.
The musketeers led by Wang Shanxu were much simpler. The soldiers in the musketeers were definitely the best-quality soldiers in the New Army of the Tang Dynasty, and they were also the most rigorously trained. The soldiers in them already looked more or less like modern army soldiers.
There is no need to talk too much about mobilization, just simple orders to make them obey the arrangements. Of course, although these soldiers obeyed, no one knows what they are thinking in their hearts.
The generals under him were all busy, while Li Xuan himself, Zeng Ziwen and Qian Mengjiu, continued to observe Zhengtai County not far away on the top of the mountain, talking in low voices from time to time, discussing how to determine what to do next.
Siege plan.
Even if it is just a pretense to frighten the Ming army, the whole trick must be performed, and it must have certain results in order to create an effective deterrent. Otherwise, just walking around the city will not be able to detect the enemy at all.
The army was weak and strong, and at the same time forced the Ming army to return to defense.
Seeing what Li Xuan and others in front were discussing, Yang Xiucai, who was among the officials behind, was also muttering in his heart.
These pseudo-Tang rebels were so cunning that they actually wanted to pretend to attack Zhengtai County. I don't know if they wanted to encircle the area for reinforcements or to intimidate the official army.
Although he was already wearing the official veneer of a doctor in the Ministry of War of the Tang Dynasty, Yang Xiucai believed that he was in Cao's camp and that he had no choice but to commit himself to the rebel army. Once he had the chance, he would still escape with his family.
Go.
When he thought of his family, he felt a little depressed.
When the new army of the Tang Dynasty left Yangjiacun a few days ago, they not only took Yang Xiucai with them, but also brought his wife, daughter Bing'er and young son. The march along the way brought hardships to their family.
In the beginning, the whole family marched on foot. He, Yang Xiucai, was okay. Although it was difficult for him to walk after being pampered for many years, he could still hold on. However, his wife and daughter both had bound feet and could not walk for a long time at all.
After a long time, I couldn't hold it any longer.
In the end, Yang Xiucai shamelessly begged Qian Mengjiu again, said a lot of good things, and finally asked for an ox cart from the baggage team.
Naturally, the ox carts of the baggage team are not specially designed to carry people, and they cannot even be said to be their own. They originally lived in the mountains, and the mountains are difficult to pass vehicles. The transportation baggage is basically carried on the shoulders, and the ox and horse vehicles are basically not used.
superior.
Regardless of whether the Ming army entered the mountains or the Tang army was originally in the mountains, their baggage transportation relied on the most primitive manpower.
After leaving the mountain, the terrain outside is a small plain without high mountains and dense forests, so a lot of livestock and vehicles were recruited along the way to transport luggage.
The flat-bed ox cart that Yang Xiucai wanted to bring was originally loaded with some items, so his family members could only sit directly on the cargo.
It's absolutely impossible to be comfortable sitting like this, but at least you don't have to walk.
Even so, this is a treatment that only a few people can have. There are not many animals and vehicles in the baggage train. Those who can ride in the vehicles are either the wounded or a very small number of female relatives. Where do these female relatives come from?
Among them are the family members of the "special talents" who were forcibly recruited like Yang Xiucai, mainly scholars and craftsmen. In order for these people to contribute to the cause of the Tang Dynasty with "peace of mind", their immediate family members were often brought along.
Above, the purpose is unclear.
Secondly, there are the family members of some young men who took the initiative to join the New Army of the Tang Dynasty on the way. Now the New Army of the Tang Dynasty no longer plays the old trick of forcibly recruiting young men anytime and anywhere. Instead, it distributes "anjia grain" and promises that they will have enough to eat after joining the army.
Rice is a selling point to attract young people to join.
Most of the young people who took the initiative to join came alone. After all, they also knew that joining the New Army of the Tang Dynasty was to keep their heads out of their pants. They might die that day, so not many people would.
Bring your family with you.
However, there will still be a small number of young people who will bring their families, and Li Xuan and the others will not refuse, but will bring them all. After all, these people join on their own initiative, and it is necessary to treat them well.
While Yang Xiucai was thinking wildly, he soon discovered that the soldiers in front were gradually approaching the city wall. The first to be dispatched was the musketry team, which shocked Yang Xiucai to this day!
"Is it about to start?" Yang Xiucai looked at the slow-moving musketeers in front and muttered: "I don't know if those officers and soldiers can stop these musketeers!"
Yang Xiucai had also seen the power of these musketeers. When these bandits came to attack Yangjiacun, they fired a volley of shots at the Yang family's courtyard wall. That formation is still unforgettable to Yang Xiucai.
"But the officers and soldiers have seen the world, and the officers and soldiers also have muskets. I guess they will not be afraid of the musketeers of the bandit army!" Yang Xiucai thought in his mind, and at the same time continued to stare ahead.
At this time, the musketeers led by Wang Shanxu were already following the orders given by Li Xuan, marching steadily and slowly to the sound of drums. Their forward speed was not fast, it could even be called slow, and it was faster than a normal person's walking speed.
It's even slower.
They walked slowly, mainly to maintain formation, and secondly to preserve their physical strength.
As the musketeers gradually moved forward, the Ming army on top of the city clearly took action. Many people could be vaguely seen running around, and several generals in armor were shouting something loudly.
Wang Shanxu rode his horse and slowly followed behind the formation of his own musketeers, looking at the city in front with a relaxed expression.
As the commander of the musketry team, he naturally knew very well that with the range advantage of his own muskets, as long as the opponent did not take the initiative to come out from the city gate, he could ensure safety and shoot calmly.
When Wang Shanxu led the musketeers forward, archers and spearmen followed from behind and came forward one after another. These two were naturally to cover the musketeers and prevent the Ming army from actually charging into the city.
If the enemy army goes out of the city to fight on a large scale, the musketeers without cover will die miserably. After all, the rate of fire of the muskets is too slow, and the most important thing is that there are not many of them, just the No. 80 musketeers.
If the opponent charges out with hundreds of people, these musketeers will probably suffer a big loss, not to mention that the opponent may still have cavalry.
With the charging speed and short-distance maneuverability of the cavalry, they can completely bypass the front of the musketeers and attack these musketeers from the side and rear, and the whole process does not even take a minute!
These days, if the matchlock troops want to fight alone, it is still too reluctant. They must have cold weapons such as spearmen to cooperate with each other.
However, Wang Shanxu and the others' worries were obviously in vain, because the Ming army did not go out of the city to actively attack, but continued to lead them on top of the city.
This also allowed Wang Shanxu and the others to successfully enter the 100-meter distance. As soon as they entered the 100-meter distance, Wang Shanxu raised his right hand and shouted at the same time: "Stop the whole army!"
Following Wang Shanxu's order, the two musketeers stopped in unison. Then, under the urging of officers at all levels, the soldiers began to rearrange their formation. After all, the formation was a little loose after just a while.
After sorting out the formation, Wang Shanxu gave the order again: "Light the fire!"
Immediately, the soldiers began to light the matchlock with the matchstick. As for the ammunition, they had been loaded before marching. The matchlock gun needed to be lit before the matchlock could be fired. There was no need to worry about misfire before the matchlock was lit.
Lighting the match rope means that the shot is about to be fired. Although the burning speed of the match rope is not fast, it cannot last too long. It is impossible to light the match rope and not fire it for a long time. That is a waste of the match rope.
At this time, Wang Shanxu had already pulled out the command knife from his waist and shouted at the same time: "Aim!"
Immediately, the soldiers raised their guns to take aim. The Huangzhushan matchlock gun equipped with a front sight and a rear sight had the most basic aiming function.
Soon, Wang Shanxu swung the command knife in his hand fiercely: "Shoot!"