Chapter 21: Taken aback
Back at the handsome tent, Myeongho repeatedly ordered the wine to be set up and celebrate tonight.
No matter whether you use the city or dig tunnels, there are countermeasures in the city, and if you are not careful, you will fail. The last time Qucheng was burned, the junior colonel Liu Zunxian planned to dig a tunnel, and Ming Ho was always very nervous, for fear that he would fail again. Today, after watching the artillery bombardment of the city, my mood immediately relaxed. Unlike the Qucheng and the tunnels, the cannon bombardment of the city is simple and crude, precisely because it is simple and rough and cannot be defended in the city.
Everyone sat down, and Du Zhongxiao said to Ming Hao: "Advice, when the cannon is fired in front of the city today, the lower official promised the gunner, if he can collapse the female wall in the western section today, everyone will be rewarded." If there is a reward in the army, it is better to cash it out immediately, which can boost the morale of the army. ”
"Reward, reward!" Ming Ho waved his hand, "Each of the gunners of the cannon has one foot, one silk, and each of the small cannons has one hundred wen, go and find the money immediately!" ”
The recruits on one side promised to go to the officials in charge of military quarters in the army and cash in the reward.
In Du Zhongxiao's heart, it is not a good thing to reward him before the army. A well-disciplined regular army should not use such means, but should use military merit and honor to boost morale. This is not a matter of saving money, and it will not be cheaper to pay a reward directly than to pay a reward directly. In wartime, the army will be rewarded heavily, and the good saying is that there must be brave men under the heavy reward, which will actually cultivate the bad habits of the army, and only recognize money when fighting a war, and lose a sense of honor and responsibility. However, an army that does not have a sense of honor and responsibility will inevitably have problems with military discipline, and it will be difficult to face a complicated situation, still less be able to persist in a difficult situation.
However, the habit of the forbidden army is like this: money must be paid for festivals, drills, and wars. If you run out of money, or if you are not satisfied with the items you have sent, you may mutiniate at any time. More than a month after the start of the war in Beizhou, the imperial court has already issued two special payments.
Tao XVII and the gunners gathered around the bronze cannon, gulping wine, and everyone was very happy.
As soon as it was dark, the army brought them wine and meat, half a pound of wine per person, and as much meat as there were. They may turn the tide of the war, and the officers and soldiers under the city will see it in their eyes and send them wine, and meat will be good meat.
When the cannon was fired in the afternoon, although it was cooled down with water from time to time, and after an afternoon of fighting, the copper cannon at this time was still like a stove. Tao Seventeen led people to gather here, as if around the stove to roast the fire, in this cold spring night, there is a unique flavor.
After drinking for a while, I saw that Du Zhongxiao brought a few people over, and everyone hurriedly greeted them.
Du Zhongxiao said: "You are brave today and you played very well. The handsome commended, each person has a foot of money and a silk horse. After a full meal, everyone rested early. Continue to bombard the city tomorrow, and after the city is broken, there will be a heavy reward! “
The gunners cheered together, happily took the money and silk, and put them away.
The money is the new copper money that came out of the treasury a few days ago, and the silk is the new autumn tax collected this year, and Du Zhongxiao specially checked it. The army is stationed here, how much money is spent, don't make the officers and soldiers uncomfortable in these subsections. In recent years, there have been many incidents of mutiny in the army because of the poor quality of the silk silk issued. Now we must find ways to boost morale and strive to capture Bay Prefecture in one go.
The gunners with iron cannons each had a hundred wen, and they saw the power of the cannons next to them, and they knew that they could not compare, and they were equally elated.
After the reward was distributed, Du Zhongxiao returned to the handsome tent and parted happily with everyone.
Seeing that the city was about to be broken, Wang Xin, Wang Kai and Hao Zhen and other generals did not dare to get drunk. After they dispersed, they went back to their barracks and made detailed arrangements. The first merit of breaking the city belongs to the cannon brought by Du Zhongxiao, and other credits, such as the capture of Wang Ze and the other leaders, everyone has to fight for it.
After Li Jihe returned to the tent, he wrote today's situation into a recital and ordered people to send them back to the capital as soon as possible.
Myeong-ho reported the military situation to the Privy Council every day, and Li Jihe's recital was presented to the emperor, which were two different channels. Because the horse bears all kinds of privileges, it is a secret music played to the emperor, and others do not know, which is very easy to arouse the suspicion of the generals.
In addition to reporting to the capital overnight, Ming Ho sent 2,000 soldiers to build a high wall outside the city, about the same as the city wall. He has been delayed for too long under the city of Beizhou, and whatever is beneficial to the siege of the city, he will do it at any cost.
Early in the morning of the second day, Du Zhongxiao looked at the newly raised earthen wall and ordered all the cannons to be moved to the east of the city gate and arranged all of them on the earthen wall.
Tao 17 commanded the gunners, set up the cannon, loaded the ammunition, looked at the city, asked Du Zhongxiao, and ordered to put a cannon on the city tower first to test the power. The power of the cannon is nearly twice as great as that of the upward fire, which is not comparable to yesterday.
When a cannon was fired, the ground shook and the mountains shook, and the corner of the city tower collapsed, and everyone cheered.
Wang Ze listened to the situation of yesterday's battle, and brought the prime minister Zhang Luan and the privy envoy Bu Ji to watch from the city tower, not wanting to be the first to hit here today. The tower shook violently, and several people fell to the ground, their faces as pale as dirt.
Wang Ze was born in the military academy, and at this time, he had a ruthless spirit, and said loudly: "Get up, also adjust our artillery, and bombard the cannon on the opposite side!" And bows and crossbows, all brought in, shoot them! ”
Bu Ji looked at the cannon on the earthen wall outside, and said to the king: "My lord, it's too far away, I'm afraid it's useless." ”
The king said sharply: "If you can't beat them, it's okay to be scared, are we waiting for death in the city!" ”
Bu Ji had no choice but to transfer the crossbowmen in the city to the southern city wall and shoot indiscriminately outside the city. He also ordered the whirlwind cannon arranged at the head of the city, loaded with stone bullets, and struck at the newly built earthen wall outside the city. The shape of the cyclone cannon is not large, and it is named because it is flexible and can change the direction of launch at any time.
After firing a shot, Tao XVII ordered the gunner to reload. Before the loading was completed, the bows and crossbows in the city were fired, and the scene was very spectacular. However, the range of the bows and crossbows was not enough, and they only reached half the distance of the earthen wall outside the city, and they fell to the ground one after another. With the bow and crossbow, several wind cannons at the head of the city also fought, but the range was closer than the bow and crossbow, and the stone bullets were a little difficult to see on the earthen wall.
Tao Qiqi saw it and smiled at the gunner: "The demon thieves in the city are already poor in donkey skills, and they can't think about it. Compared to our cannons, their crossbows and cannons are like children's toys, and they only make people laugh. Hurry up and reload, let's knock out the tent on the east side of the city gate first. ”
The gunner, who was holding a torch and preparing to light the medicine twist, smiled: "The rabbit is in a hurry and bites, this is the demon thief in the city who is forced to be anxious." ”
Everyone laughed together, and they did things more neatly. After loading, Tao XVII commanded the gunners, aimed at a war shed on the east side of the city gate, and bombarded it with one shot. Flat fire is not only more powerful, but also much more accurate, unlike yesterday, where it often takes a few shots to knock out a battle boron.
Ming Ho stood in the distance, saw the cannon bombarding a war shed, and said to Du Zhongxiao beside him: "Looking at the movement of the demon thieves at the head of the city, I think that the thief leader has arrived at the city tower." Why don't you use artillery to bombard the city tower, maybe you will kill the thief and make a miracle! ”
Du Zhongxiao said: "Beizhou City has been surrounded by water, and it is a place of death. As long as they attack the city, the thieves will not escape. Now the most important thing is to attack the city, as long as the city is broken, the thief can only be captured! ”
When you have the chance to win, there is no need to take chances and do some miracles. As long as you follow the steps and isolate the south city gate, then use Qucheng to board the city, and the army outside the city gathers, and none of the thieves can escape. Bombing the city gate now will delay time, and the most important thing is time.
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