On the fifth watch, the Ming army pulled out the camp and set off to the clouds.

Before leaving, Wang Xinyu had a hole dug in the undamaged wall of the earthen city. Every other zhang, a small hole was dug and stuffed into three bottles. Finally, the fuse was lit, and after a series of loud noises, almost all of the walls of the earth city were razed to the ground.

When the Ming army marched to the dawn, the forward Ming army had already seen the towering and mighty Yunxiao Jiancheng in front of them.

Although it is a small county town, it guards the passage of Fujian and Guangdong, and also chokes the main road from the peninsula to the mainland after the landing of Tongshan, so Li Shutai turned this place into a fortified city second only to Fuzhou and Quanzhou, and its solidity is even stronger than that of a capital city like Zhangzhou and Putian, and it is a fortress on the land of Fujian.

When the Ming army arrived at the city, they camped a mile away, dug trenches, built earthen villages, and erected wooden fences. In the middle of the camp, the Ming army auxiliaries built four earthen platforms with sandbags and mud, and also erected two watchtowers more than four feet high.

The watchtower is a kind of lookout used by the commander's personal soldiers during the siege of the city, and consists of a thick log and a small wooden hut at the top. The watchtower was built in advance, and it was very simple, with a wooden platform at the end of the wood with a balustrade. Before the siege of the city, the watchtower was erected by the auxiliaries, fixed to the side of the large log with several wooden stakes, and then erected a staircase, so that the commander's own soldiers could climb the watchtower and observe the movement in the city.

While the Ming army was building the camp, Wang Xinyu also sent some armored soldiers to stand two hundred steps away from the Qing army's city, shouting and scolding, and declaring that his 50,000 troops were coming, if they didn't want to die, they would hurry out of the city and surrender! The Ming army did not kill those who surrendered.

At the head of the city, Yang Sheng, the defender of the Qing army, ordered the Qing army to be ready and not to act rashly, so as not to lure the snake out of the hole.

"My lord, the thieves are building a camp, are we attacking while they haven't finished repairing?" A pro-soldier asked.

Yang Sheng said angrily: "That's a thief's plan to lure the enemy!" They only have more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, and they dare to attack my clouds? They can only rely on treacherous tricks to deceive the city! If we fall for the tricks of thieves and lose the important land, we will not be able to protect our heads! ”

No matter how the Ming army outside the city moved, and how they sent soldiers to shout and curse under the city, the Qing army inside the city just couldn't hold out.

By noon, the Ming army had already set up four earthen platforms that were one zhang high, twenty zhang long, and seven zhang wide.

"My lord! Oh no! The pirates have set up a cannon on the earthen platform! A pro-soldier panted and reported to Yang Sheng.

Yang Sheng, Cai Zhong, Xu Shichang, Zhou Lianggong and others walked up to the city to see the cannons erected on the earthen platform of the Ming army.

Zhou Lianggong looked at the artillery erected by the Ming army in the distance, and sneered: "That's just a thief's small cannon, Yunxiao City is strong, and the thieves can't blast the city wall unless they bombard the city gate!" Thieves don't have a cannon in red, so they don't need to be afraid! If they want to bombard the city gate, they must first destroy the small village outside the city of our army! Even if you break through the city gate, there will be an urn city inside! What's more, there are red-coated cannons on the upper floors of our city! That's why these thieves are also very smart, and they didn't build a camp in the direction of our city walls! ”

There are four gates in Yunxiao City, namely the southeast Yingxi Gate, the Northeast Tianshu Gate, the southwest Xiegong Gate, and the northwest Huaiyin Gate. Outside each city gate, there is a small village built by the Qing army, although there are no soldiers in the wall, but it can block the vision of the Ming army, so that the Ming army can not directly bombard the city gate with artillery. In addition, Xiaozhai also has a role, that is, when the Qing army needs to counterattack, it can transport troops into Xiaozhai, and there is a camp to block it, and the attacker cannot see the city gate.

To attack the city gate, you must first break the small village. But on the city tower, there is the Qing army's arrow tower, as well as the red-clothed cannon, the Franc machine, the tiger squat cannon, plus the bird gunner, the attack on the small village can make the Ming army suffer heavy casualties.

An officer who looked like a thousand commanders of the Qing army asked, "Ladies and gentlemen, the thieves set up cannons on the earthen platform, did we pull the red-coated cannons over and bomb them?" ”

Yang Sheng said: "No need! This small cannon can't destroy our walls! The red-clothed cannon pulled over, but it made the city gate defenses weak, if the thieves took the opportunity to bombard our small village, the city gate would lose a defense! If I transfer the red-coated cannon back to the city tower, I will lose the opportunity and the thieves will destroy my cannon. There are red-clothed cannons on the city tower, and the thieves dare not adjust the artillery to bombard the city gate of our army! ”

The red-coated cannons were bulky, and the Ming army also erected watchtowers, once the Qing army mobilized the cannons, the Ming army preemptively destroyed the cannons in transport.

The Ming army set up a large camp, and some of the auxiliaries began to build siege tools, while the other part of the auxiliaries advanced to a hundred zhang outside the city wall and began to dig a mound to build a small mound.

Half a mile away from the left and right sides of the mound, there were Ming troops digging and building mounds.

The Ming army quickly repaired three mounds of earth five or six feet high, put a wooden fence in front of the mound, and raised a flag, which seemed to be used to block the view of the Qing army.

The Qing army at the head of the city saw that the Ming army outside the city dug up a few small mounds, and also used the camp to block the view of the city, as if there were people digging something behind the mound. Xu Shichang, a Beijing official who didn't know how to defend the city, asked: "Could it be that the thieves want to attack the cave?" ”

Zhou Lianggong sneered: "You Beijing officials, how can you know how to attack and defend!" If you want to attack the cave, it is impossible to dig into our city without ten days and half a month! The thieves are not strong enough to attack the city, so they can only use this strategy to lure the snake out of the hole! We must not be fooled! ”

However, the Qing army still left a hand, digging a pond in the city, if the Ming army dug a tunnel to come in, they dug a trench to block, diverted water from the pond to pour in, and destroyed the tunnel.

A small fleet of Ming sailors sailed upriver along the Zhangjiang River and occupied the aqueduct leading from the Zhangjiang River to the moat in Yunxiao County, and then the Ming sailors dropped sandbags one after another, cutting off the water source of the moat.

Outside Yunxiao City, the besieging Ming army began to attack the city after receiving the beacon smoke signal that the sailor had cut off the water source of the moat.

The six-pounder cannons on the earthen platform bombarded the city, and the shells smashed on the walls. There was a female wall to block it, and the casualties caused by the shelling to the Qing army were not large. However, the small cannons placed by the Qing army at the head of the city, such as the tiger squat cannon, the small general cannon, and the small Franc machine gun, were destroyed.

The drums of war rumbled, and countless auxiliaries pushed the freshly built shield carts and sandbags towards the moat. On both sides, the sword players wearing black iron six-petal hats, covering the archers and bird-gunned soldiers, approached the cloud city wall step by step.

The shield cart was made of thick wooden planks and covered with felt cowhide soaked in water, which not only protected against rocket attacks, but also increased the defense of the shield cart, blocking bows and projectiles, and protecting the auxiliaries pushing the shield cart.

The Qing archers opened their bows and arrows, and the arrows were fired in unison, and the guns of the birds and guns were fired together, and clouds of white smoke came out of the city. Random arrows and projectiles hit the shield car, and the wooden planks covered with felt cowhide blocked the feather arrows and projectiles, which failed to cause much damage to the Ming army behind, only a few unlucky Ming army auxiliaries, whose bodies protruded to the outside of the shield car, were killed by the Qing army's bows and arrows or projectiles.

Flying locust-like arrows shot in the formation of the sword and shield hand, the arrows could not penetrate the shield and iron armor, seeing the sharp arrows flying towards their faces, the Ming army only had to bow their heads slightly, and the wide brim of the six-petal hat could gently bounce the feather arrows away.

The sword and shield men arrived a hundred paces away from the city, and quickly crouched down to form a shield array, revealing a dense crowd of archers and bird gunners behind them.

A Ming soldier general waved a small flag in his hand. Arrows and projectiles were fired in unison, and random arrows flew up to the city like bullets raining down. The Qing archers with armor did not suffer much damage, but the Qing army auxiliaries who stood behind the rolling wood and stones and stood next to the iron pot of boiling gold juice had no armor on their bodies, and they were killed and wounded by the random arrows that came in from the hanging.

On the watchtower of the Ming army's camp, the soldiers waved the small flag in their hands and reported the movements of the Qing army at the head of the city to Chen Python.

On the earthen platform, the six-pounder cannon of the Ming army roared, and the solid cannonballs smashed into the city, killing many Qing archers. However, there was a female wall to cover it, and the hit rate of the artillery at that time was not high, and the lethality of the shells to the Qing army was not too great, and it could only cause some damage.

The shield car gradually approached the moat, and the feather arrows and projectiles shot by the Qing army at the head of the city became more and more dense, and many Ming army auxiliaries holding sandbags and preparing to fill the moat were shot or shot, screaming and falling. But the Ming army auxiliaries behind quickly threw sandbags into the river, and then immediately hid behind the shield cart.

The archers and bird gunners of the Ming army under the city also attacked the city fiercely, and many Qing soldiers who were outcropping and firing arrows were hit at the front gate and immediately corpsed at the head of the city.

However, the archers and bird guns of the Qing army also caused a lot of casualties to the archers and bird guns of the Ming army. Many Ming soldiers were shot by arrows, killed on the spot, or seriously wounded.

The first group of shield carts that came up retreated, and the second group of shield carts were pushed up again.

Some of the archers had already released a dozen arrows, and their arms were so sore that they could barely pull their bows. However, the sailor archers behind him stepped up and, under the protection of the sword and shield men, continued to fire arrows at the head of the city.

The Qing archers also changed a group of people, and the archers who could not pull their bows and arrows went down to the city and replaced them with a group of archers.

The two sides were not affected by their strength, and they were still firing fiercely.

Several Qing soldiers carried tiger squat cannons and rushed from the other side, preparing to set up tiger squat cannons at the head of the city.

"Tartar Tiger Squat Cannon!" The pro-soldiers on the watchtower waved small flags.

On the earthen platform, six-pounder cannons roared, and the cannonballs smashed on the head of the city, causing stones to fly at the head of the city. However, the hit rate of the artillery was not high, and until the Qing soldiers set up the tiger squat artillery, they still failed to eliminate the Qing gunners.

"Boom" The Qing army's tiger squat cannon fired a shotgun, and the Ming saber and shield hands and bird guns under the city suddenly fell.

A few more shells smashed into the city, and finally one of the shells hit the tiger squat cannon of the Qing soldiers, and the solid shell smashed the tiger squat cannon into the air, and the two Qing soldiers around were also killed. The tiger squat cannon that flew into the air landed at the head of the city, and a Qing auxiliary soldier didn't have time to run away, and was hit on the head by the falling cannon, and suddenly his head exploded like a watermelon that had been kicked by someone, and the red and white things sprayed all over the ground.

The shield cart was pushed to the moat again, and sandbags were thrown into the moat.

The projectiles and arrows at the head of the city poured down like a torrential rain, and the Ming army auxiliaries who had no time to hide behind the shield cart fell one after another. There were also some Ming army auxiliaries holding sandbags, which were already full of arrows. Although the sandbag blocked his chest and face, an arrow hit him in the leg, and the auxiliary soldier who was hit by the arrow dropped the sandbag and fell to the ground, and in the blink of an eye he was shot into a hedgehog.

The drums of war rumbled, and the Ming army went up one after another, threw sandbags into the moat, and retreated. Many people did not make it back and fell on the edge of the moat.

At the head of the city, the corpses of the Qing soldiers were scattered, many Qing army auxiliaries were killed, and some unlucky armored soldiers were killed by hitting the front door or the gap in the armor. There are also some Qing army armor soldiers were killed by the Ming army's bird guns, the improved bird guns and the improved particle gunpowder, so that the bird guns have a strong armor-piercing ability, as long as they are hit by the Ming army's birds, even if they are wearing heavy armor, they are also pierced on the spot. If you were hit by a lead bullet, even if you didn't die at the time, the lead poison entered the body, and there was no cure in those days.

The two sides fought fiercely, with one side trying to prevent the moat from being filled in, and the other side trying to fill the moat. The corpses of the Qing soldiers at the head of the city were pillowed, and countless corpses of Ming soldiers were also left on the side of the moat.

And behind those small mounds of earth piled up by the Ming army, another group of Ming army auxiliaries were digging tunnels. The earth that had been dug up was heaped on top of the mound.

However, what is strange is that the Ming army did not dig a tunnel directly, but first dug a very deep trench, which was nearly three zhang deep into the ground. Behind the ditch, a diversion ditch was dug all the way to the small river ditch, and it seemed as if to bring up the groundwater, inject it into the diversion ditch, and then flow into the small ditch not far away.

Someone carried a strange wooden box to the ditch. This strange wooden box with a handle on it that can be used to shake it. At this time, someone had already placed the split bamboo tube on the edge of a water outlet hole under the top of the wooden box.

"Out of the water! Out of the water! Someone shouted.

Groundwater seeps out of the trenches constantly.

A craftsman put the end of the wooden box into the ditch, shook the handle, and after a while, saw that the water continued to flow out of the small hole under the wooden box, into the bamboo tube, along the bamboo tube into the diversion ditch, then into the small river ditch, and finally into the distant Zhangjiang River.

This is a spiral pumping machine that can pump up and divert the seepage of groundwater to avoid seepage in the tunnel.

The next step is to start digging tunnels in the trenches. Every time the tunnel is advanced, there are auxiliary soldiers who spread bamboo planks on the ground in the tunnel, so that the seeping groundwater flows into the trench and is pumped away. In this way, the problem of tunnel water seepage in areas with high water table is solved.

It turned out that when Wang Xinyu and the craftsmen discussed solving the problem of tunnel water seepage yesterday, some craftsmen proposed to dig a short trench first, and then pump water with a water truck. But it is very difficult to place a wheeled waterwheel in a narrow trench, and how wide and large is the trench to be placed in a waterwheel with a large amount of pumping? There is not much time to siege the city, and Wang Xinyu will not consider the matter of a large amount of work. At first, Wang Xinyu considered installing a piston pump pump, but that thing required a blacksmith to make iron barrels and iron pipes, and the problem of piston tightness could not be solved without rubber. Later, he remembered that Archimedes in ancient Greece invented a spiral pumping machine, so he designed this spiral pumping machine made of bamboo and wood, and the effect was very good, and it was much more efficient than using auxiliary soldiers to draw water with a bucket of ladle basins.