Chapter 130 We thieves have never fought such a rich battle
"The king is awake! The king is finally awake!"
A few days later, in Hengzhou City, in the original palace of Prince Gui, Zhang Xianzhong finally woke up again. The guards and maids next to him were overjoyed and quickly informed the generals of the good news, and soon some generals came to visit.
After being pockmarked by lead chips and gravel that day, and one of his ears cut off, Zhang Xianzhong at first insisted on not allowing his subordinates to speak out, and even patrolled the defense lines around the North Gate Tower with injuries. After stabilizing morale, this Just went back to heal.
He originally wanted to imitate Liu Bang's scene of shouting "The prisoner hit my toe" to stabilize the morale of the army after he was hit by an arrow. He even felt proud for a moment in his heart: If we do the same thing as Liu Bang, can we do the same as Liu Bang in the future?
Unfortunately, in the end, he bled too much and after holding on for a cup of tea, he fell into a coma when he returned to the tower.
He slept for two days and two nights before he regained consciousness under the treatment of several doctors captured from Prince Gui's Mansion.
Zhang Xianzhong woke up for a while and immediately became a little nervous. He quickly wanted to get up, but the sharp tearing pain on his left cheek forced him to fall back on the bed.
The pain seemed to constantly remind him that his left ear had left him.
"Your Majesty, be careful! Lie down quickly and don't move rashly. Don't open the wound!" At this time, Bai Wenxuan and Feng Shuangli, two generals outside the door, had already come in. Upon seeing this, they quickly supported Zhang Xianzhong and reminded him.
They are also the most trusted generals of Zhang Xianzhong in Hengzhou City today. Li Dingguo is still treated coldly, and his status has been demoted to that of Bai Wenxuan.
Zhang Xianzhong bared his teeth for a while, then quickly put on a dignified expression and hurriedly asked about the military situation: "How long has Gu been unconscious? Have the army attacked the city? What is the current situation?"
Bai Wenxuan responded: "Your Majesty, you have been sleeping for only two days. The army has not fully attacked the city yet. Every day they only destroy traps, build equipment, and strengthen the siege camps.
They will also send out Franchise machines and heavy-duty fire guns like the day before, and occasionally fire at the city walls to suppress our army's crossbowmen and sentries. Although our army's casualties were not many, the morale of our army was really low.
As for the Hongyi cannon, it did not appear. It should be that the cannons of the official army were transported slowly and had not yet reached the front of the army, so they could not fully attack the city.
In addition, in the past two days, the Chenshu people have expanded the siege camp to the north, east, and south of the city, leaving the west side of the city. And because General Wang Shangli's troops are in the eastern counties, the Chenshu people seem to be in order to avoid being attacked from both sides. The main force was left in the east of the city, and the camp there was fortified very strongly. Looking from the top of the city, it seemed that several layers of trenches and antlers were to be built."
"The Hongyi artillery hasn't arrived? It hasn't started a full-scale attack on the city yet? That's good..." Zhang Xianzhong breathed a sigh of relief, his mind was spinning quickly, and after a while he said to himself,
"The Xiangjiang River must have been deep and fast in that section of the river where it crosses Hengshan Mountain. Once the large ships used by the army reached Hengshan Mountain, they could no longer go upstream, so they had to haul fibers overland through steep and steep places, and then find small boats to reload after crossing the mountain ridge. This will take more time.
It seems that our army chose to retreat to Hengzhou to fight again because it was a well-versed military strategist! If it had stayed around Changsha, the Chenshu people's Hongyi artillery could be assembled at any time and anywhere."
Zhang Xianzhong's geographical knowledge is not very rich, but fortunately he has just fought in the area around Hengzhou City a while ago, so he is very impressed by the terrain features.
Hengzhou City, Changsha City, and Xiangtan County are all along the Xiangjiang River. But if you just think that "these cities are all along the same river" and think that ships can go all the way, it would be a big mistake——
Just like Jiangling and Chongqing are both on the Yangtze River, but only ships going down the river from Chongqing can "return a thousand miles to Jiangling in one day". However, it was very difficult to go upstream from Jiangling to Chongqing in ancient times. The difference in flow speed of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River
It is very difficult to overcome. Every time you cross a gorge, trackers have to pull the fiber.
Although the location where the Xiangjiang River crosses the Hengshan Mountains is not as steep as the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, it is obvious that it is difficult to reverse the current.
After figuring out that the army had chosen the tactic of siege on three sides, Zhang Xianzhong had to face this new situation and make countermeasures.
Under the service of the guards, he drank some porridge and water to regain his strength, sorted out his thoughts, and then continued to talk to himself:
"Guan Shen Gou has made it clear that he wants to encircle three people and one is missing. He has no intention of attacking our army and fighting to the death. He just wants to undermine our army's morale and fighting spirit. In the future, when the Hongyi artillery comes, he will definitely concentrate his artillery fire on the east of the city.
, if the east gate or the east city tower is blown down and a gap is created, and the officers and soldiers cover up and enter the city, I am afraid that our small number of troops will not have the courage to fight with the officers and soldiers in the streets to the end.
At that time, we can only hold on for a few days. When the discipline and vigilance of the officers and soldiers are slightly relaxed, our army will send out soldiers to go out of the city to fight in the field, sneak attacks on the officers and soldiers' Hongyi artillery positions and camps, and fight with the enemy in chaos! Win in the chaos!
!
Otherwise, we can only hope that Wang Shangli will not be afraid of death and take the initiative to send troops in the past few days to attack and cut off the army's food route. If the army's rear fleet of ships transporting Hongyi artillery happens to be intercepted, our army will have peace of mind.
When the time comes, you can stay in the city and slowly fight with the Shenshu people. They don't have heavy artillery, and they may not be able to capture Hengzhou, which is guarded by our army, even if they besiege the city for a month. Once the Chenshu people run out of food, it's time for us to decide the outcome in one battle!
"
After Zhang Xianzhong finished speaking, Feng Shuangli and Bai Wenxuan next to him also looked more relaxed. It was obvious that they still admired the king's strategic vision, and everyone went to arrange their own defense.
…
The Chenshu people outside the city didn't know whether Zhang Xianzhong was caught in the intensive sniping attack by turtle doves that day.
After all, there was no way to confirm that Xiang Yu directly hit Liu Bang back then. What's more, today Zhang Xianzhong is still through the window of the tower, so no one can directly see it.
However, Shen Shuren was able to confirm one thing. In the next two days, the bandit defenders became cautious. Whenever they heard the roar of Ming army guns and artillery outside the city, no one dared to shoot arrows from behind the battlements.
Hide behind the perforation and shoot diagonally from the side——
In fact, the battlement design of the ancient city wall originally had slopes, and the purpose was to facilitate cross fire from the defending side. However, the coverage range of this side fire was not far enough, which anyone with a little knowledge of geometry can understand.
The army's firearms team initially stood at least two hundred paces away, and there was no threat from crossfire.
After fighting and fighting, when General Jin Shenghuan, who was specifically responsible for the frontal attack on the city, noticed this, he dared to let the firearms team continue to advance, approaching 150 steps, or even the last 100 steps, and opened fire on the city head.
.
Although they couldn't kill a few people, the number of wounded soldiers caused by the splashing of gravel was still increasing day by day. The key was that the morale of Zhang Xianzhong's army had never been so suppressed before, and the defenders of the city were so afraid to stick their heads out or take aim and shoot.
After two days of preparation, perhaps because the ammunition was consumed too quickly and the logistical pressure of suppressing the enemy was too great, Jin Shenghuan adjusted some tactics step by step and began to use the newly built nest vehicle to cooperate with the musketeers to suppress it.
The chariot is a tall instrument similar to a siege tower or a well.
The city wall of Hengzhou is not too high to begin with, at least about a foot shorter than that of Changsha, so as long as a wooden cart three or four feet high can ensure that the musketeers in the watchtower at the top can overlook the city wall.
After gaining the height advantage, relying on precise direct shooting, the defenders at the top of the city were suppressed even more severely. After being suppressed several times, the officers and soldiers even climbed up the flying ladders and quickly tried to board the city with the death squads.
Zhang Xianzhong's army reacted quickly and immediately deployed a large number of reserve troops to gather at the top of the city to resist. The firearms team on the officer's watchtower vehicle in the distance seized the opportunity to fire wildly at the left and right sides of the target wall section, killing a large number of densely packed troops.
The bandit soldiers who gathered together to reinforce the breach were killed and killed in large numbers.
It's a pity that this kind of melee often results in heavy casualties on both sides. There are not many death squads available on the official and military side. After paying a certain amount of casualties, they stopped this attrition tactic——
The sources of soldiers for the death squads are actually very humane. They were all strong thieves who were defeated and captured in the Battle of Changsha. They were organized into death camps and hard labor camps by the government army.
They were told that as long as they performed one first mission, even if they were defeated and escaped, they would be pardoned and would be incorporated into the army according to the treatment of ordinary soldiers.
In actual combat, some of these death camps who were forced to rush forward must have climbed to the top of the city, knelt down and begged for mercy and surrendered to Zhang Xianzhong's army again.
But it doesn’t matter. It’s very difficult to surrender in front of the formation anyway. The close-range melee battlefield is so chaotic. Those who really dare to put down their weapons may be killed by the enemy before they can even finish their words. Two or three out of a hundred can become thieves again.
, had no impact on the Shen Jiajun, but instead eliminated some stubborn and unstable factors.
After being exhausted by the Shenshu people, Feng Shuangli, who was guarding the city, discussed it with Bai Wenxuan and asked Zhang Xianzhong for permission to deploy all the Fran cannons accumulated in the army to the front line to keep up with the firearms of the army.
Battle between nesting vehicles——
This tactic is also very correct. As long as the firepower of the Fran machine can hit the wooden siege weapon, it can definitely create a big hole with one blast.
Back then, Yuan Shao used watchtowers to fire arrows at the Guandu camp, and Cao Cao relied on thunderbolt chariots to counterattack. Today, both sides have upgraded, with the officers and soldiers using musketry chariots, while the bandits have upgraded to the Franco machine.
It's a pity that the theory is very correct, but the actual effect may not be good. Yuan Shao didn't have a thunderbolt chariot back then. The thunderbolt chariot was exclusive to Cao Cao. But Chen Shuren's subordinates had a lot of Franco machines. The thieves wanted to fight against them. Although
Several military chariots were destroyed at once, but not many people were killed in battle——
The official musketeers who boarded the chariot were required not to wear heavy armor, but only to wear fluffy clothing. Once the chariot was blown down, the soldiers would fall from a height of three to four feet at most, and there would be a buffer under their feet.
As long as you don't get hit by the roof of the car and pinned down, basically no one will die. At most, you will break your leg and go back to recuperate for half a year.
Moreover, the nest carriages of the late Ming Dynasty were already more advanced than the nest carriages of previous dynasties. The nest carriages of Shen Shurenjun were based on the lift-type nest carriages of the Song Dynasty, with some labor-saving pulley structures added, similar to elevators, which could lift the carriages.
Winch it up and put it down again.
So even if Zhang Xianzhong's army destroyed the Chao Chao, those soldiers would just fall from the fourth floor with the elevator car. As long as the Chao Chao was not destroyed instantly, the officers and soldiers could quickly cut off the Chao Chao before it was on the verge of collapse.
One or two of the locking cables allow the "elevator car" to descend in advance and have a buffer.
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Because there are a large number of observation nest vehicles of the army and the army, it is impossible to destroy them at the same time. After Zhang Xianzhong's army's Franco machine fires, it will be located quickly, and the army has a set of orderly coordinate reporting passwords, which can allow various ministries to coordinate information as soon as possible.
Then the official Franco machine gun array outside the city can also immediately launch counterattacks.
Although it may not be possible to directly destroy Zhang Xianzhong's Franco machine, the number of Shen Shuren's Franco machine is more than ten times that of Zhang Xianzhong. Under the absolute numerical advantage, the experienced gunners who are very precious in Zhang Xianzhong's army soon suffered heavy casualties.
Even if the cannons are not destroyed, the number of people who know how to use them is quickly drying up.
Soon, Zhang Xianzhong could only count on the surrendered Ming troops under Yin Xianmin and He Yide to control the remaining Franji. Although these former officers and soldiers had poor fighting will, they were still better than the illiterate in terms of technical arms.
Rogue thieves are stronger.
It's a pity that He Yide and Yin Xianmin surrendered because Zhang Xianzhong was afraid of death. They didn't really work hard, so they just made a few cannons without working hard. The gunners didn't dare to show their heads and look around to observe the enemy's position. It was completely
Hitting blindly.
The differences in the quality and morale of the technical soldiers on both sides have made this confrontation increasingly one-sided.
A few days later, Zhang Xianzhong finally realized that he must not compete with Shen Shuren in a competition between technical and military units. All his men were illiterate, and they would suffer a big loss!
They, these uneducated people, should compete with each other with swords, guns and punches!
However, as these days have dragged on, the army's siege positions have become stronger and stronger. If they go out to counterattack at this time, they may not be able to gain any favors.
Fortunately, just when the senior generals of Zhang Xianzhong's army gradually realized this and were in a dilemma,
The officers and soldiers changed their tactics again, so that they no longer had to make the decision to go out of the city for a decisive battle and destroy the officer's firearms positions.
On the fifth day after the siege, the intensity of firearms bombardment by the army dropped sharply, and they no longer sent out death camps to attempt to attack the city. Zhang Xianzhong and the generals were at a loss as to what to do.
Finally, Li Dingguo, who had been marginalized, said frustratedly in a discussion with his boss Bai Wenxuan:
"The advantage of the officers and soldiers with firearms is bound to not last long. They have been attacking for four days, which has severely damaged the morale of our army and must have consumed a lot of money. Is it possible that Chen Shuren cannot transport the ammunition for the rear army?
Is there any way for our army to contact General Wang in Hengdong County? If there is really a shortage of ammunition, General Wang should make a sneak attack on the Hengshan Guards, sent out advance notice of the passing of the military transport fleet and the timing of transfer, and then rob it and burn it
."
After hearing this, Bai Wenxuan felt that this conjecture made sense and told Zhang Xianzhong. However, for fear of offending Zhang Xianzhong, he did not say that it was Li Dingguo's idea at first.
When Zhang Xianzhong thought it made sense and wanted to adopt it, he tried to send death-defying cavalry from the west side of the city that was not surrounded to contact Wang Shangli to deliver a message, so that Wang Shangli could intercept it.
After Bai Wenxuan waited for his order to be issued, he tactfully hinted that this was Li Dingguo's guess.
After Zhang Xianzhong learned about it, his expression twitched slightly, and his face, which was wrapped in white gauze bandages, was as pockmarked as Mu Nayin, and he also felt a burst of pain.
"What does the second child have in mind? That's all, even if he wants to do good for our army, he just wishes that he would never see Wang'er and the third child again! He can inherit my men and compete with Wang'er! He is
He has already taken care of this group of people as his own private property in advance!"
Zhang Xianzhong drove these boring thoughts out of his mind and did not ask anyone to recover the courier just because this was what Li Dingguo thought of.
More than a day later, Wang Shangli's Ministry in Hengdong County, eighty miles away to the east, also easily received Zhang Xianzhong's order and Zhang Xianzhong's assessment of the material losses of Chen Shuren's former army.
Wang Shangli has not been working hard these days and is very low-key. After seeing the king's request, he also feels that it is unreasonable to refuse to obey the order at all. Besides, if there is a chance, and the main force of the army is in the siege camp outside Hengzhou City, then the Hengshan Guards
The food road there is weak, so there must be not many troops.
If you can rob the Chenshu people's ammunition transport fleet, you will be able to replace your guns with cannons by then.
As a bandit army, although Wang Shangli's army also has a certain number of firearms, they are often in a state of ruin like fire sticks. Who makes them lack the ability to produce ammunition? They can only fire after grabbing the ammunition, but they can't grab it after using it.
When it arrived it was misfiring.
After some calculation and planning, Wang Shangli decisively ordered the main force of the entire army: "Leave 10,000 people to guard the camp and be on guard at all times. Once orders are sent back from the front, reinforcements will be sent immediately. I will bring my own main force and leave the city this evening to go to Hengshan to defend and rob ammunition."
Our army's scouts have found out that Chen Shuren has set up a new transshipment terminal on the Weixiang River in Hengshan. Large ships coming from the north of Hengshan are all unloaded in the north. After being transferred over the mountain pass in human-powered carts, they are reloaded in the south.
boat.
Therefore, there must be a lot of supplies piled up at the dock that cannot be reloaded. Let’s rob all those gunpowder pellets and make a fortune stick!”
——
PS: I have almost 9,000 words today, and 8,000 words yesterday. I have to drive back to Hangzhou tomorrow, so it will be reduced to one update, and work will start the day after tomorrow. Then it will return to normal.