The Mongol Tsewang Zabra opened his strong bow and aimed it at a head sticking out of the battlement, and with a slight loosening of the bowstring with his fingers, a wolf-toothed arrow whistled out with the sound of the wind, and accurately shot at the face of the Qing soldier at the head of the city eighty paces away. Only a scream was heard, and the soldier fell backwards on his back.

Tsewangzab took out another sharp arrow from the quiver, stretched out his bow and aimed it at the head of the city. When another Qing soldier showed up, Tsewang Zabu loosened his bowstring, and the sharp arrow pierced the Qing soldier's left eye and shot directly through the skull.

Looking at the Oroqen and Evenks who used pulley compound bows around him, Tsewang Zabu felt very disdainful: You can't pull a strong bow like mine! Although the pulley compound bow is very good, I am still used to using my strong bow. Although the pulley compound bow saves half the effort, it takes a long time to open the bow and is not as fast as its own strong bow.

When those Oroqen people shoot one arrow, Tsewangzhab can shoot at least two arrows.

Many Manchurian soldiers and other Mongol soldiers also felt that this pulley compound bow was easy to use, and they all used this new compound bow provided to them by the Ming army, giving up their original strong bow. For those Manchurian and Mongol soldiers, Tsewang Zabu looked down on them even more, feeling that they had almost forgotten their original archery skills.

Tsewang Zabu was a Mongolian Eight Banner soldier who was captured in Qiongzhou three years ago, and because of his good performance, he surrendered to the Ming army after being captured, so he was not sent to hard labor, but became a mercenary of the Nanyang Company's escort team in Qiongzhou. Later, because he went to Borneo Island to suppress the indigenous people, he was promoted to general manager. When the Qiongzhou Army recruited some of the mercenaries of the Nanyang Company's escort team to be converted into a regular army, Tsewangzhab took the initiative to sign up, so he became an official officer of the Qiongzhou Army.

In terms of loyalty, Tsewang Zabu was more loyal to Wang Xinyu than the Ming soldiers who were adapted from the prisoners of the Green Battalion, because he was a soldier of the Eight Banners of Mongolia who voluntarily surrendered. Once Wang Xinyu suffered a defeat and Tsewang Zabu fell into the hands of the Qing army, not only himself would suffer, but also his family and even the entire tribe would suffer!

Tsewangzhab did not change the pulley compound bow, but still used the old-fashioned strong bow. His archery skills are very good, and every arrow shot can kill a Qing soldier. However, after shooting more than thirty arrows in a row, Tsewang Zabu felt that his arm was sore, and his physical energy consumption was too great, and he couldn't pull his hard bow away. So he also changed to a pulley compound bow.

"This kind of bow is not bad, it saves strength, and it can shoot dozens of arrows more." Tsewang Zabu stretched out his bow and arrows, shot a Qing soldier with an arrow, and muttered to himself.

of the Ming Army

The artillery of the Qing army at the head of the city was destroyed, and without the threat of long-range artillery fire from the Qing army, the Qiongzhou army pushed up the three-pounder field guns with a relatively close range but a faster rate of fire, forming an overwhelming firepower against the Qing army at the head of the city.

Under the nervousness and fear, whether it was Fan Chengmo, Yierde, Tian Xiong, Zhang Jie and other middle and senior generals of the Qing army, or the supervising team, grassroots officers and ordinary soldiers, all of them lost the determination to fight the Qiongzhou army to the end, and they all hid under the dead corners of the city wall with trepidation, trembling when they listened to the roaring cannons outside the city, and they couldn't muster up the courage to stick to the city, allowing the auxiliary soldiers of the Qiongzhou army to swagger outside the city to fill the moat and open the siege channel.

However, the moat of Ningbo City is very spacious, although this moat is not as good as the moat of Xiangyang City, which is known as the world's first strong city, but compared with the fortified cities of Nanjing and Beijing, the moat of Ningbo City is not bad.

The average width of the moat in Xiangyang City is about 60 zhang, and the widest place reaches 100 zhang! Although the moat of Ningbo City is not so perverted, this moat is built by relying on the tributaries of the river network of Yongjiang River and Yuyao River, the water volume is large, the river surface is very wide, the width is 15 zhang to 20 zhang, the widest point can reach 30 zhang, the water depth is about one zhang, and the deepest part can reach three zhang. To fill such a moat, the amount of work is enormous.

The sky gradually darkened, and the suppressive fire of the Ming army gradually stopped. At this time, the Qing army dared to go up to the city and observe the situation under the city.

It was pitch black outside the city, and the Qing army could not see anything. However, there was no movement outside the moat, and Fan Chengmo was sure that the Ming army did not fill the moat overnight, and should have gone back to rest.

Fan Chengmo came up with a plan: "Send people out of the city and close the sluices, so that there will be less water in the moat." We then let Minzhuang and the auxiliaries go out of the city and dig up the sandbags thrown by the dogs during the day. If you can't finish digging, you can open the sluice gate again, release the water and flush it, and the sandbags that you can't dig up will be washed away. ”

Fan Chengmo planned to take advantage of the night to organize a death squad and release it out of the city with a hanging basket to open the sluice gate of the moat. For this reason, Fan Chengmo offered a high price and recruited a death squad of 200 people with a lot of money in an attempt to open the sluice.

The moat sluice gate is also a key part of the siege war. Generally, the sluice gates are within the fire range of the city, and it is difficult for the opponent to occupy the sluice gates to close the gates. Even if the sluice gates are captured, the gates are closed, and the moat dries up and becomes a trench, auxiliaries are still needed to fill the trenches. The attackers will also cover the sluice with firepower, so as not to prevent the defenders from using the sluice to make a fuss and use the method of storing and releasing water to wash away the sandbags thrown by the besieging party.

The sluice gate was within the range of the Ming army, and it was extremely risky for the Qing army to go out of the city to close the sluice and open it again.

As a result, the death squad organized by the Qing army was discovered by the Ming army on alert at night before they could get close to the sluice.

"The Tartars are out of town! They're going to the sluice! In the darkness, someone shouted.

There was a sound of trebuchet firing, and the firewood that was poured with fire oil was thrown to the edge of the sluice by the Ming military trebuchet, and a raging fire suddenly ignited. The Qing army death squads that left the city were exposed to the light.

The artillery fire of the Ming army was immediately aimed at the figures reflected by the firelight, and more than a dozen three-pounder guns 300 steps away fired a salvo, overturning dozens of Qing soldiers on the spot. This was followed by a round of more than a dozen three-pounder guns.

More than 30 three-pounder guns were fired in three stages, and the sound of artillery was continuous, and most of the Qing death squads that left the city lost most of them.

The remaining Qing soldiers were fired in turn by bipod firearms, flintlock pistols and rifled guns, and in the blink of an eye, they were completely beaten, and not even a single person had a chance to flee back to the city.

No one in the Qing army in the city dared to leave the city anymore, and even if Fan Chengmo offered a higher price, he could not recruit enough daredevils. Although the silver is good, you have to have a life to spend it! If you go out of the city, the whole army will be wiped out, and your life will be gone, so why do you want silver? Except for a very small number of guys who want money and don't want to die, normal people will not die in vain at all.

Fan Chengmo offered a heavy reward, but only recruited more than 20 daredevils, and it was not enough to go out of the city to stuff people's teeth, so he had to give up and give up the idea of opening and closing the gates.

Since the sluice gates can't be closed, there is no way to get Minzhuang out of the city to dig up sandbags. Fan Chengmo could only pray that the Ming army would move slowly and not fill the moat so quickly.

"My lord, there will be a way in the end! It will definitely stop Minggou from filling the moat! Tian Xiong offered a plan.

Fan Chengmo was overjoyed and said: "What is the plan for the fall of Tian? ”

"Do you remember Xinhui?" Tian Xiong said.

Fan Chengmo nodded and said: "I know, in the battle of Xinhui, Li Rebellion's more than 100,000 troops came to attack, our army held on for nearly a year, Li Reverse couldn't attack for a long time, and the reinforcements of our Wang Division arrived, breaking the traitors!" ”

"Yes!" Tian Xiong said, "We can emulate the battle of Xinhui!" Use the people of the city to stop the rebels! ”

In the early morning of the next day, before the sky was completely light, the Ming army launched a siege battle again, and a large number of auxiliaries and civilians pushed shield carts full of sandbags and swaggered towards the edge of the moat. The three-pounder guns of the Ming army raised their muzzles and aimed at the head of the city. The musketeers and archers followed the shield cart and marched slowly.

On the top of the city, where the mouths of the female walls were blown clean, countless women, children, old and weak, suddenly appeared, crying and shouting for the Ming army not to fire. Hordes of Qing troops hid behind women, children, the old and weak, and fired arrows at the Ming army auxiliaries under the city.

At this moment, whether it was the gunners, musketeers, or archers, they were all stunned, and they did not know whether to fire at the head of the city.

The arrows on the city are like locusts, the guns and bullets are like rain, and the auxiliary soldiers and Minzhuang who are holding sandbags and preparing to fill the river under the city are defenseless, they originally thought that the firepower of the Ming army would definitely be able to suppress the Qing army, who knew that the Qing army was cold and used this trick. The unsuspecting auxiliaries and the strong men were shot by arrows and fell into the moat screaming.

"Go back!" Someone shouted anxiously.

The auxiliaries and the people retreated behind the shield carts, not daring to refill the moat.

In the camp of the Ming army, Zheng Cong, who had just suffered a loss, asked anxiously: "Brother-in-law, what should we do now?" The Tartars are using the same trick of the Xinhui against us again! ”

"Send someone to shout to the Tartars first! Tell them that if they drive the people to help defend the city, we will fire without mercy! After the city is broken, slaughter all the city, kill all the banner people, regardless of men, women and children! If we don't defend the city without this law, we can guarantee the safety of the people in the city after the city is broken! Wang Xinyu replied.

"But what if the Tartars do not listen to us? Isn't it too cruel for us to shoot at women, children, the elderly and the weak? Zheng Cong asked a little unbearably.

Wang Yuyou's disciple Vance Tong offered a strategy: "Two princes, in fact, we don't need to shoot at the people, our current situation is very different from the situation of the King of Jin back then, the King of Jin's own food is not enough, and the troops are not enough to resist the Tartar reinforcements, and they have no way to prevent the plague." As for us, we have plenty of food, we have the support of logistical supply lines at sea, we are well armed, and we have the means to prevent the plague. We can increase the number of troops invested, set up an ambush on the way to the Tartar reinforcements, and concentrate superior forces to annihilate! Adopt the method of encircling points and sending reinforcements, and eat the Tartars of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi little by little, so that it will be much easier for us to fight Fujian again. ”

"yes!" Zheng Cong also agreed with this suggestion, "As long as we send another 30,000 troops to Ningbo, we can encircle the reinforcements and eat the Tartars who come to reinforce us!" In this way, the casualties of the people are much smaller. ”

Wang Xinyu said angrily: "You also know the battle of Xinhui, the Tartars finally ate the common people!" If the Tartars continue to defend the city with this trick, if we besiege it, the Tartars will eventually eat the common people! Instead of letting them eat the common people, it is better to take the city for us in one go, so that the common people will survive more! ”

How many casualties can be caused by indiscriminate shelling by artillery fire? Wang Xinyu estimates that there are only a few thousand people at most. But if the method of besieging the city is adopted, then the Qing army is estimated to really eat tens of thousands of ordinary people!

Sometimes, being too merciful can be cruel; Cruelty may seem like it, but it is true kindness!

Wang Yuyou whispered a plan in Wang Xinyu's ear: "There is a plan for lowly duties, which can reduce the casualties of the people as much as possible......"

Under the city of Ningbo, a Ming cavalry in charge of delivering the letter rode to the city, the cavalry reined in his horse, opened his bow and shot a letter into the city, and shouted: "This is our marshal's letter to Fan Chengmo and Yierde!" In an hour, we'll attack the city again! ”

The letter was sent to Fan Chengmo and Yild by the Qing soldiers. After reading the content in their hearts, there was a difference of opinion between Fan Chengmo and Ilde.

Ilde said: "Lord Futai, you should consider the bannermen in the city!" There are not many people in the city here, but there are more than 10,000 people with bags. Do you want more than 10,000 bannermen to be murdered? That Wang Yu, but he did what he said! ”

Originally, Ningbo was not full of cities, but after Hangzhou was conquered, the Eight Banners Army stationed in Zhejiang was changed to be stationed in Ningbo. Some of the Eight Banner officers' families are in Ningbo, plus the Baoyi, Mengbaqi and Han Baqi in the city, the total number of bannermen in the city is more than 5,000 people, and many bannermen and ordinary people will suffer! From the perspective of protecting the bannermen in the city, Ilde decided not to take such a method, so as not to be retaliated against by Wang Xinyu.

Who knew that Fan Chengmo said: "If we use this trick, it will be impossible for Minggou to break through the city!" As soon as they attack, we will use women, children, old and weak as cannon fodder! They can't bear to attack their women, children, old and weak, so they can only fill with human lives! As long as the thieves don't use firearms, it won't be a problem for us to keep it for a year! ”

Yild retorted: "This Wang Yu is from the Zheng family's army, and he is no better than the kind-hearted Li Dingguo. If Lord Futai insists on using this trick, when the city is broken, the innocent people in my city will suffer! ”

However, Fan Chengmo did not listen to the advice, and still let the women and children of the Han people in the city go to the city to block the cannonballs for the Qing soldiers.

An hour later, the Qiongzhou army attacked the city again.

The war drums rumbled, and the Ming army auxiliaries pushed the shield cart towards the moat step by step. The various guns on the batteries raised their muzzles, and the auxiliaries followed by musketeers and archers pressed in the direction of the city walls.

"Minggou is here again! Let the women and children go to the city! A Qing army officer shouted.

A large number of Han women, children, old and weak were forced to go to the city under the coercion of the butcher's knives of the Qing soldiers. Seeing that the artillery of the Ming army was aimed at the head of the city this time, the musketeers and archers came up step by step, and these common people realized that the catastrophe was coming. In the crowd, there was a cry of an immature child.

"Hurry up!" A Qing soldier swings a whip and beats a woman holding a child.

Under the coercion of the Qing army, women, children, old and weak walked up to the city, waving their hands and crying for the Ming army not to open fire.

"Fire!" Officers at all levels gave orders to go down.

On the artillery position, one cannon after another spit flames, white smoke rose from the air, and shells whistled and smashed into the city. Under the city, the musketeers raised their muskets, pulled the trigger, and white smoke rose up; The archers stretched out their bows and arrows, and the arrows flew up to the city. (To be continued.) )