On the side of Peixian County, in the sky above the Liucheng camp, the fire was already shining like daylight, and the smoke rising into the sky reached directly into the bullfighting.
Monk Kong Youde was pleased that the two Han vassal kings of the Qing court had rushed to the front line of the battlefield with their guards and servants. A large number of artillery pieces - including general cannons made by the Qing army themselves, as well as old and new types captured from the Ming army and the Shun army.
Hongyi cannon——also arrived at the outermost trench of the Liucheng camp.
Countless Han soldiers were filling the trenches on the battlefield with bricks, stones and soil. After being severely reprimanded by Dorgon, Bohetuo also changed his tactical style and began to attack fiercely at the cost of casualties.
A group of white-armored elite cavalrymen from Nikan's heroic cavalry camp also galloped across the wall at this time, making a detour to the side and rear of the Liucheng camp. These cavalrymen who were conducting detours were all wearing red cloth armor, and they were on the battlefield.
Under the firelight above the camp, it was bright and red, as bright and terrifying as the color of blood.
boom!
The artillery has blasted open the village gate, and the huge solid shells have smashed open the village wall. Countless mud and flying rocks are flying everywhere. Large wooden walls have fallen down, and wooden thorns are flying all over the sky. It is unknown how many people have been injured.
However, the Shun Army defenders were behind the stronghold wall and, with the help of civilians, they had quickly built at least two new lines of defense.
The construction method of these civil fortifications, in terms of the tightness of defense, even surpassed that of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in later generations, which was famous for building field camps.
After Li Laiheng joined the camp, he fought in the world for four years.
In the past four years, he derived, summarized and strengthened a set of effective new tactics from the vast military experience of the generals of the Dashun Army.
These cutting-edge techniques and tactics, in addition to the cavalry's wall-like charge and the thunderous volley shooting of the fire gunners, naturally include those initiated by Li Laiheng and then improved and summarized by Miao Lichen and other miner generals.
Civil engineering construction method.
The last two lines of defense on the inside of the main camp in Liucheng are both based on ice water mixed with soil. Trenches must be dug on the ground, and wooden thorns are placed in the trenches.
In addition to the earthen walls, there are wooden walls. The wooden walls are built on small undulating earth mounds, forming a rather deep in-depth defense.
Moreover, each wall is not built in a straight line. Instead, it is in the shape of a five-pointed star, either protruding outward or recessed inward, forming a favorable shooting range and view like a fortress.
When the enemy approaches and attacks, he will inevitably enter the recessed corner of the wall and is extremely vulnerable to the firepower of the defenders behind the wall on both sides of the recessed corner.
The resistance of the Shun Army relied on such favorable and organized defense fortifications. Gu Kecheng did not rely on passion and bravery. He asked Xu Du and Yan Ermei to withdraw to Xuzhou first to organize the defense, and he personally took charge of the rear operations.
, this is entirely due to precise calculation.
He was confident enough to resist the brutal attacks of the Donglu and retreated the main force of the Shun army to Xuzhou.
Delay, delay, this will succeed.
Whoosh whoosh——
There was another dense sound of piercing the sky above the Liucheng camp, and a large number of arrows rained down like flying snow, and some of the arrows were still burning with a red flame.
Originally due to gunpowder explosions, violent shelling, enemy arson and other reasons, the remaining camp in the city was already a sea of fire. The smoke-filled situation became even more serious. The fire above the camp also made this tragic scene.
The battlefield is more like Abi Hell.
The personal guards surrounded Gu Kecheng. The leading general of the personal army knelt on one knee in front of Gu Kecheng and tried his best to persuade:
"Mr. Minister! This is enough! Just leave some seeds for the army in front of the palace!"
Gu Kecheng burst into laughter, seeds? Any soldier of the Dashun Army is a seed, but when needed on the battlefield, even Lao Long Live Li Zicheng can use his own life as a tactical bargaining chip, let alone a seed.
?
Everyone is a seed, and everyone is not a seed.
Gu Kecheng lowered his voice and said seriously: "I will withdraw...but it's not the time yet. It's not the time yet, not now. You all should pay attention to the Qing army's outflanking cavalry. We have to wait until Dongfang
We must seize the light cavalry and then retreat before the last moment when they penetrate the rear of the main camp in the city."
The pro-army soldiers were all worried about Gu Kecheng's extreme use of risk. If the enemy had another back-up plan, the thousands of defenders who stayed in the city camp would definitely not be able to escape the fate of being annihilated.
The soldiers were not afraid of sacrifice, but they were deeply worried about whether Gu Kecheng would die.
If General Quan dies in battle, it will definitely have a huge negative impact on the upcoming battle and the morale of the Dashun Army.
The Qing cavalry outside the village wall charged forward in formation, their steps gradually getting further and further away, their red cloth armor seemed to be integrated with the firelight, and the team flew towards Xuzhou in the south.
Gu Kecheng listened to the fierce shouts of killing inside and outside the camp, and silently calculated the marching speed of the Qing army's roundabout troops in his heart.
He looked at the defense situation of Dashun Army's last two lines of defense, and finally began to give orders:
"Burn all the gunpowder and food and baggage, leaving not a single shot or bullet for the Donglu...According to the original plan! Fight and retreat. After resisting steadily, we will break out and go to Xuzhou!"
It is actually not quite accurate to say that it was a breakout, because the Qing army's encirclement network for Peixian and Liucheng camps has not yet been fully formed. Nikan's roundabout force had only set out not long ago, and the distance threatened the Shun army's retreat to Xuzhou.
, there is also a certain distance.
Every soldier's face finally showed a little joy. They were not happy about their own survival, but felt reassured about Gu Kecheng's personal safety.
The pro-military general who had been urging Gu Kecheng to leave the camp in Liucheng as soon as possible stood up. He patted his chest and said to Gu Kecheng:
"Let the prime minister break up the siege quickly. I will stay behind to command the rear of the palace while we resist."
Gu Kecheng glanced at him, Wang Deren, he was a cavalry commander from Li Laiheng's army, and he fought very bravely. When Gu Kecheng left the front army of Zhendian, Li Laiheng specially transferred a group of trustworthy direct officers from the Yulin army.
Wang Deren was one of them who assisted Gu Kecheng.
If Wang Deren had stayed in the Yulin Army, he would never have faced such an embarrassing situation like now.
"Wang Zamao! I'll wait for you in Xuzhou! Prince Jin will also wait for you!"
Gu Kecheng called Wang Deren's "nickname" again. Since Li Zicheng proclaimed himself emperor and founded the country, the generals of the Dashun Army rarely used "nickname" to each other anymore.
It was probably because everyone felt that they had already entered the palace and had been awarded titles and generals, so they were unwilling to mention these nicknames with a strong sense of banditry.
Wang Deren's nickname is Wang Zamao. He is now General Guoyi in the army in front of the palace. His status is no less than the deputy commander-in-chief of the Ming army. He is also from Li Laiheng's Yulin army. He has a bright future. If he does not die here, he will surely die in the future.
There is hope for becoming a marquis.
Wang Deren lowered one corner of his helmet and said calmly:
"Please ask the prime minister to ask for merit for me in the future. I don't ask for a wife and a son, but for the wealth of my family... Our army will definitely win the battle of Xuzhou. The local chickens and dogs from the East will definitely not be the opponent of our Lord Jin. Wait until the future
After the envoy Gu Jingluo followed the prince of Jin in his northern expedition to the capital and cleared Liaodong, if one day he returns to Peixian and Liucheng and sees snow falling on the canal, then it will be my king, Zamao, who has come to see the envoy!"
The other guards gathered around Gu Kecheng and mounted their horses. The southeast side of the camp in Liucheng had not yet been besieged by the Qing army, and the road was still open.
Except for Wang Deren who led a group of soldiers who stayed behind to resist, Gu Kecheng led the remaining elite cavalry troops and immediately broke out.
During the time when Gu Kecheng was holding on to the camp in the city, the civilian men left behind by Xu Du also evacuated from the back of the camp to the Xuzhou area after digging trenches at night.
Now that Gu Kecheng broke the siege and left again, the last remaining troops in the camp in the city were reduced sharply. There were hardly many people left, and even the wall of the village was no longer full.
Kong Youde looked at the changes in the flags of the Shun Army in the camp and knew that the enemy had begun to retreat. He did not want his direct troops to suffer heavy casualties during the siege, so he used the excuse that the artillery fire had been taking too long and needed time to cool down and rest, and forcefully held him back.
Fortunately, the Qing army did not take the opportunity to attack.
After another hour or so, until Bohetuo, who had gone to Dorgon's camp to await his reprimand, returned to the front line, the Qing army resumed its fierce offensive.
The last moment of the stay in the camp was when Wang Deren stood on the highest point of the wall. He was born with little white hair, and there were many white hairs mixed in his hair, so he was nicknamed Wang Zamao.
"My hairy hair is better than Donglu's pig tail braids, right? Hahaha."
Wang Deren held his sword and laughed wildly, and the Qing army's artillery soon covered the place where he stood with an even louder roar. The last line of defense finally collapsed due to too few troops and being outnumbered, and the enemies completely poured into the camp, going crazy.
Suppress, purge, search and kill.
Wang Deren had half of his arm broken off by a shell from the Hongyi Cannon. He barely stood up, with blood flowing from his forehead. Several Han soldiers rushed over and stabbed him to the ground with long spears...
Wang Deren thought to himself, should the King of Jin arrive?
King Jin will definitely arrive in time this time.