The powerful power of the mortar cannon to break the city made Cai Shiying have to order to go out of the city to counterattack. Only by sending troops to kill and destroy the mortar positions of the Ming army can we ensure that the city wall is not blown open. But the Qing army blocked all the other city gates, and only the three city gates remained. At this time, even if you think with your toes, you can imagine which gates the Qing army will rush out of if they want to counterattack.

Seeing the drawbridge put down and the Yangzhou city gate opened, Huang Ting, the general of the Ming army, was like a shark smelling blood, and shouted excitedly: "All the hidden cannons are aimed at the city gate by Lao Tzu, and hit hard!" ”

Zheng Chenggong had long expected that once the mortar artillery bombarded, the Qing army was very likely to rush out from the city gate to counterattack, so he had already arranged artillery positions outside the three city gates of Yangzhou, including Anjiang Gate, Rujiang Gate and Xu Ning Gate, and the gun muzzle was aimed at the city gate.

The artillery positions of the Zheng Jiajun were very hidden, hidden in tents on top of the mounds, and there were wooden fences in front of them, and the Qing troops at the head of the city did not know that the white tents were hiding cannons.

The three city gates at which the Qing army counterattacked, outside each gate, the Ming army had four three-pounder guns, four four-pounder guns, and two six-pounder guns aimed at the city gates.

Hearing Huang Ting's order, the Ming gunners immediately lifted the tents, knocked down the wooden fence, and aimed the muzzles of the black holes at the city gates. At this time, the city gate opened, and groups of Qing soldiers shouted and poured out of the city gate.

Solid shells rely on multiple bounces to kill targets in the field, but for this kind of enemy who is lined up in a straight line and pours out of the city gate, solid shells can kill and injure a whole line without bounce at all.

"Put!" Outside the Anjiang Gate, a Ming artilleryman shouted loudly.

Two three-pounder cannons roared, and the shells burrowed into the hole in the city gate and penetrated into the crowd of Qing troops who were crowded and shouting to launch a counterattack against the Ming army. The narrow gates and crowded crowds made the cannonballs exert their maximum power. Two cannonballs burrowed into the crowd like two scythes of death. Pull out two blood lines, advance from the city gate to the city gate, tear the human body in the crowd of the Qing army, and beat the Qing army crowd to appear two flesh alleys, stumps and broken bodies fly sideways, each shell can knock down more than 30 people, and even cause more than 50 casualties!

"Put!" Two other three-pounder cannons were fired immediately behind, and two shells burrowed into the crowd again, and the flesh and blood in the city gate cave flew and screamed miserably, and two more blood lines stretched from the gate to the city gate. Nearly 100 Qing soldiers fell.

The four-pounder cannon and the six-pounder cannon fired one after another, and the shells continued to drill into the city gate almost uninterruptedly, setting off bursts of bloody rain and blood, killing and wounding more than 300 Qing soldiers in the blink of an eye.

"Get out of here! The thief has to load the shell, not so fast! A Qing guerrilla shouted.

However, this Qing guerrilla thought was wrong, and adopted a three-pounder gun with a fixed charge package to fire shells, and the loading speed of the first three rounds of rapid fire could be very fast, and from the fourth round, it was necessary to cumbersome cool down the barrel. To clean the gun chamber, pour water into the gun chamber, then pour out the water and wipe it with a mop. In the first three rounds of sharp shots. There is no need for such a cumbersome procedure, just a simple cleaning of the barrel with a wet mop to stuff the kit and shells.

The Qing army had to withstand three rounds of rapid fire from three-pounder guns, and four three-pounder guns with three rounds of rapid fire. Twelve shells were fired. Almost at the same time, the four-pounder also made a second round of firing.

The loading of the six-pounder gun was busy, but after the second round of firing of the four-pounder gun. The six-pounder gun was also reloaded, and once again fired shells at the Qing army.

The Qing army that launched a counterattack from Anjiangmen had already suffered more than 500 casualties, but they did not even rush out of the city gate. Inside the city gate, countless mutilated corpses and wounded soldiers with missing arms and legs lay down, blocking the way out of the city.

"The thieves are loading shells! Hurry up and get out! Finally, the deadly cannon sound was not heard again, and the Qing guerrillas shouted, and rushed out of the suspension bridge with the green battalion soldiers.

More Qing soldiers rushed out of the city gates and poured into the mortar positions that were hiding behind mounds and posed the greatest threat to the walls.

"Kill yourself!" Looking at the crowd of Qing soldiers surging over like moths to fire, Zheng Chenggong sneered.

"Put!" Liu Guoxuan roared.

In the camp of the Ming army behind the trench, the Ming soldiers armed with bows and arrows and bird guns suddenly poked their heads out from behind the wooden fence, and rows of random arrows and projectiles pierced into the crowd of Qing soldiers who were charging, overturning a large number of Qing soldiers.

Risking death to fight back, the Qing army of the green battalion, who was bent on destroying the mortar position of the Ming army, shouted, rushed to the front of the Ming army's camp, but was blocked by the trench in front.

The Qing soldiers jumped into the trench and climbed up to the wooden fence above. However, from behind the wooden fence, rows of spears stretched out and stabbed indiscriminately at the trench, stabbing a large number of Qing soldiers to death in the trench.

The Qing archers in the back released arrows and shot at the Ming army behind the wooden fence. Random arrows were fired into the crowd of Ming troops, causing certain casualties. However, the Ming army has heavy armor, and the lethality caused by feather arrows is not very large. The wounded Ming soldiers were dragged back, and the vacant seats were immediately replenished, and the Qing soldiers in the trenches continued to be stabbed to death with spears.

The trenches were quickly filled with corpses at the positions where the Qing army counterattacked.

The Qing army stepped on the corpse and rushed up. At this moment, rows of bird-screws appeared, and a burst of guns attacked the Qing soldiers head-on, killing and wounding many Qing soldiers.

When the bird gun finishes fighting, it automatically retreats and changes to the archer to fire a volley of arrows.

Zheng Jun's Tiger Squat Cannon and Franc Machine Cannon were also pushed up, spewing out fireballs from behind the wooden fence. The artillery fired at close range almost fired shells from the nose of the Qing soldiers, using shrapnel that killed in pieces. Countless projectiles rained down on the crowd of Qing soldiers, beating the Qing soldiers with flesh and blood.

"Kill!" Several of the Ming army's walls suddenly collapsed, several trench bridges were placed on the trenches, and the iron-clad Iron Man army rushed out from behind the camp, followed by a team of long knives, pikemen, and birdmen.

The Qing soldiers who were so badly beaten couldn't resist it at all, and the Ming troops who were rushed out were cut down in a pool of blood one by one.

The Qing soldiers turned around and fled in the direction of the city gate, but when they easily escaped the pursuit of the Ming army and fled under the city gate, they found that the drawbridge had been pulled up and the city gate had been closed. These Qing soldiers were abandoned outside the city, followed by the Ming army, wielding various weapons, to catch up.

"Don't kill, let's surrender!" The abandoned Qing soldiers knelt on the ground one after another and surrendered to the Ming army.

This time out of the city to counterattack, the Qing army not only did not even get close to the mortar position, but also lost more than 4,000 elite Yangzhou green battalions in vain. This made Cai Shiying feel very frustrated. The mortar positions of the Ming army could not be taken. Sooner or later, the walls will be blasted open. It is impossible to plug the gap in the city, the power of the mortar is too great, the Qing army spent a long time to plug the gap, and the Ming army only needs a few rounds of artillery bombardment to knock open the gap that has just been blocked.

"There's no way to defend the city! The thieves' artillery fire is too fierce! We should stay behind the gap and inflict maximum damage on the pirates entering the city! Lin Qilong proposed.

The Qing army in the city could also rely on sword carts, horse guns, deer barricades and other weapons to defend the city, as well as long-range weapons hiding on the roofs on both sides, to block the Ming army on the street at the gap. With the advantage of numbers, and then using the weapons of the defense of the city, it is still possible to plug the gap. As long as the Ming army cannot break through the gap, Yangzhou City is still in the hands of the Qing army, and the Ming army will need to pay a heavy price if it wants to capture it.

Cai Shiying nodded and said, "Yes, being broken through a gap is not the same as breaking the city!" Hold the gap and kill all the thieves in the gap. We've won! ”

At that time, the siege and defense of the city can be said to be very cruel, even if a section of the city wall was broken with siege weapons, or from the city gate, the defenders in the city still had the defense weapons to use the streets to block the road. Drive out the opponent who attacks from the breach, so the bloody battle at the breach is the most brutal.

Zheng Chenggong also anticipated the fierceness of the attack, and he came up with a solution: "Attack the breakthrough we opened with mortar artillery, and send the captured fake Tartars up." Let them go to the breach! The thieves will inevitably use knife carts, deer bars, and various defense equipment to plug the gap. We took the opportunity to send men to the top of the city, to observe the position of the breach, and to take advantage of the fierce battle between the captives and the Tartars. Bombarding the Tartars' fortifications with mortars will surely break the city in one fell swoop! ”

This method is actually to push the captured Qing soldiers forward as cannon fodder to consume the equipment of the city defense. The Ming army in the back took advantage of the entanglement between the two sides and fired flowering shells with mortars. Of course, if a flowering cannonball is smashed down, whether it is the Qing soldiers defending the city or the prisoners who are forced to step forward by the Ming army, they will be blown up.

Zheng Cong couldn't bear it and asked, "Father, how many prisoners will we die if we do this?" I'm afraid that if a round of flowering cannonballs goes down, all the captives who rush forward will die, right? ”

Zheng Chenggong said angrily: "The kindness of a woman! As the saying goes, mercy is not in charge of soldiers! How do you lead troops like this? Captives are used to be used as cannon fodder to die! If we don't let them go up at this time, will we be on our own? ”

After some preparations, Zheng Jiajun began to attack the breakthrough that had been bombarded by mortars.

"Kill!" Under the coercion of the Ming army's war team, a large number of Qing soldiers who wore uniforms poured towards the gaps in the city wall that had been blown open, armed with wooden spears, wooden sticks and other rudimentary weapons, and carrying sandbags and stone sticks.

The Qing army blocked the gap with a volley of bows and arrows and birds, killing many prisoners. The captives in the back rushed up under heavy fire from the Qing army, piled up sandbags and stone bars, dug up dirt, and paved a path through the gap. Groups of prisoners pushing shield carts and rushing carts poured into the gap.

"Block!" The general in charge of plugging the gap shouted.

On the street behind the gap, groups of Qing soldiers pushed knife carts, pulleys and other equipment to defend the city, quickly blocking the road of the Ming army's attack. The auxiliaries who followed behind quickly raised the defensive walls with bricks and sandbags.

The Qing army in the city built a lot of equipment to defend the city, including knife carts, pulleys and other tools to defend the city. Usually, these vehicles defending the city are hidden in the streets and alleys, and the artillery fire of the Ming army outside the city cannot hit these defense equipment. Once the city walls or gates were breached, the Qing soldiers would push these defending vehicles out to block the road. These defensive weapons, like the moving city walls, seriously threatened the Ming army that invaded the city and provided a second line of defense for the Qing army.

The captives poured into the gap and used wooden spears to attack the Qing soldiers behind the bayonet carts, but a large number of them were crushed to death by the rushing pulleys and knife carts. A large number of Qing soldiers pushed knife carts and pressed them out, knocking over many prisoners.

The captives in the back pushed the shield cart and the rush cart, passed the slope, and rushed into the breach. The Qing soldiers attacked the captives with rockets and oil canisters, setting fire to many shield carts and charging carts. A large number of captives were on fire, screaming and turning to flee, but they were overturned by the random arrows fired by the Qing army.

It was easy for the shield carts and rushing carts pushed by the captives to penetrate into the defensive circle of the Qing army, but they were counterattacked by the Qing army with all their might. One by one, the shield carts and rushing carts were overturned by the Qing army, and the prisoners who had no time to run away were hacked to death one by one.

At this moment, the ironclad soldiers of the Ming army, who had already reached the top of the city, defeated the Qing soldiers at the head of the city, and signaled the fierce battle on the street to the artillery behind.

"The two sides are already entangled! Now open the artillery, the Tartar defense weapons will not have time to withdraw, and they will inevitably suffer heavy losses! Zheng Chenggong laughed.

"Fire!" Huang Ting roared.

More than a dozen 64-pounder mortars roared at the same time, and the shells rose into the air, smashing down on the top of the barricades in the city that had been improvised by the Qing army with knife carts, bricks, and sandbags. At this time, the captives were engaged in a fierce battle with the Qing army, and the extremely powerful flowering cannonballs whistled to the ground, exploding fireballs on the barricades of the Qing army.

In an instant, Cai Shiying's weapons for defending the city that he had spent a lot of manpower and material resources to build were all turned into tattered wooden planks and piles of scrap copper and iron, a large number of green battalion Qing soldiers were flying blood, and a large number of attacking prisoners also fell.

"Zheng Wei is too ruthless! Actually fired at his own people! Cai Shiying gasped.

Without the weapons to defend the city, Yangzhou City could not be defended, and the only thing that could be counted on was the rescue soldiers over there.

But so many days have passed, and the rescuers on Aobai's side are nowhere to be seen.

The Qing army retreated to the inner city and continued to hold on to the inner city walls.

"My lord, we can't do this, as long as the thieves fire at the inner city again, the inner city will be broken again. Now that it has come to this, we might as well abandon the city. The thieves are not strong enough to pursue us, and it is already good that they can occupy Yangzhou. Lin Qilong advised Cai Shiying.

Cai Shiying said angrily: "Yangzhou is an important city on the canal, how can you give up easily? Our army has already sent someone to ask for help, and the imperial army will arrive in a few days! ”

Unexpectedly, the next news completely dashed Cai Shiying's hopes: the messenger brought back a reply from Aobai, saying that Cai Shiying would stick to it by himself, and the Aobai army would not come to Yangzhou.

In fact, Ao Bai had his own ideas, he knew that the river around Yangzhou was very wide, and the Ming army had the advantage of sailors, and if the Qing army crossed the river from Yangzhou, it would inevitably suffer heavy losses. Therefore, Ao Bai decided to cross the river from the upper reaches and then come from the land, and the Ming army was taken by surprise.

Further up Anqing, the Yangtze River route was still controlled by the Qing army. Crossing the river from upstream is the safest way. As long as the main force of the Qing army attacked Jiangnan, the Ming army was forced to abandon Yangzhou and fight a decisive battle with Aobai in Jiangnan. (To be continued.) )