479 broken cover state

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"Let's talk about the specific information sent by the Intelligence Bureau to Gaizhou." Liu Chong's eyes were fixed on the map and he asked his lieutenant Tao Qing.

Tao Qing immediately replied: "The information I received before shows that the Tartars never expected that we would land in Lushun, let alone that Gaizhou, which is in the hinterland of Liaodong, would be attacked.

Therefore, Gaizhou City originally only had more than 100 Tartars, and more than 1,000 Han clothed slaves, etc., with a strength of just over 1,000, and the city was almost no different from Fuzhou and Yongning.

They are all old traditional city walls, which were built by the Ming Dynasty in those years, and later after the Tatars captured them, they were simply repaired, and with our cannons, they were enough to blast open the city walls of Gaizhou. ”

In the face of the powerful firepower of the White Dragon Army, cities like the traditional old-style city walls in the past have been difficult to resist this kind of firepower.

In particular, since the Wanli years of the Ming Dynasty, the national strength of the Ming Dynasty has declined, corruption is serious, and local officials have rarely done thankless things such as repairing the city.

After Gaizhou was captured by the Tartars, the Tartars did not repair it, after all, the location of Gaizhou indicates that it is unlikely to be attacked.

At the same time, on the city wall of Gaizhou, in addition to the old artillery before, there are not many artillery, which is not a threat to the White Dragon Army at all.

At this time, in the face of the siege method of the White Dragon Army, in which the artillery bombardment broke the city, the musketeers annihilated the enemy, and the infantry army cleared the city, the past defensive combat method has begun to be unsuitable.

After the power of the artillery was revealed, it was followed by a change in the castle's defenses.

It's like a spear and a shield, the enemy's spear becomes sharper, and you have to find a way to make the shield stronger.

For example, the addition of earthen walls, the construction of trenches, the construction of fortresses and other defensive facilities, strengthen the defense of the city wall against artillery.

At that time, the threat of artillery to new walls and fortresses will be greatly reduced, and siege warfare will return to the war of attrition of long-term sieges.

However, at least now the Tartars could not have imagined that the White Dragon Army's artillery would become several times more terrifying than the last time they saw it in just over two years.

Since Liu Chong has already made up his mind to attack Gaizhou, he should not be late and take his generals to formulate a plan for the battle in the shortest possible time.

"Remember, the speed of this operation must be fast, I estimate that the Tartar reinforcements will arrive soon, and we must withdraw from Gaizhou City before the Tartar reinforcements arrive."

Liu Zhong cautiously admonished his generals.

"Yes!"

"Let's go down and prepare, and we'll be out in half an hour."

When Liu Zhong led 4,000 soldiers of the 'Zhenliao' Army to the north and rushed to Gaizhou, it was already noon the next day.

A large force of Ming troops suddenly appeared outside the city, which caused chaos in Gaizhou City.

The Tartar guards of Gaizhou City did not dare to go out of the city to intercept, but ordered the city gate to be closed tightly, and the defenders went up to the city to defend.

At this time, in addition to the original more than 1,000 defenders in Gaizhou City, there were also more than 1,000 defeated troops brought by Geng Zhongming a few days ago.

If it had been placed in the past, the Tartars believed that even if they only had 2,000 defenders in their hands, then if there were no tens of thousands of Ming troops outside the city, it would be impossible to break through Gaizhou.

However, this time the White Dragon Army only had 4,000 people, which made the defenders in Gaizhou City panic.

After all, with Geng Zhongming's arrival in Gaizhou, the fall of Lushun, Jinzhou, Yongning and other places also spread to Gaizhou, making it difficult for Tatars to believe.

In this way, if the Tartars of Gaizhou still dare to despise the outside of the city, but the 'Zhenliao' army of only 4,000 people, then they are too arrogant.

After Liu Zhong led his army to the outside of Gaizhou City, he immediately ordered the siege of the city, and in the face of the Tartar defenders on the city, the White Dragon Army turned a blind eye.

Lei Ying commanded the artillery battalion and pulled dozens of artillery pieces to a distance of three hundred steps outside Gaizhou City.

Because Liu Chong directly built the city wall of the state, although there were a few old artillery, there was basically no threat to them.

He directly asked the artillery battalion of Thunder Eagle to advance the artillery to a distance of three hundred paces, at this distance, the power of the artillery could be better exerted.

"Tao Qing, scatter all the scouts to the north, monitor Yaozhou in the north, and if the Tartar reinforcements arrive, come and report immediately."

For the sake of safety, Liu Zhong sent a large number of scouts north to guard against the arrival of Tartar reinforcements.

"Lei Ying, Lao Tzu will give you time to burn two incense sticks, and give Lao Tzu to blast away the wall of Gaizhou." Liu Chong said with a serious expression.

"The general is assured that the task will be completed."

Lei Ying turned around and ran to his artillery battalion position, and shouted to all the artillery commanders: "All artillery commanders listen to the order, within a stick of incense, give Lao Tzu all the ammunition around you, no need to save ammunition." ”

"Yes!" One by one, the gun commanders shouted excitedly, they liked this kind of order to let go of their hands and not save ammunition.

More than 50 artillery pieces lined up outside Gaizhou City, and the artillery commanders began to observe the distance, adjust the firing angle, and load solid iron bullets.

"Aim, put!"

Ignoring the multiple cannons roaring in turn, the gunpowder smoke was filled in front of the artillery array, and when the gunpowder smoke dissipated, everyone clearly saw that there were already several gaps in the Gaizhou city wall.

Although the city wall was not blown down, there were large pieces of rammed earth on the wall, which were knocked down.

"Keep firing!"

After a salvo, the White Dragons' gunners began to work hard to push the cannon back into place, and then began to clean the chamber and reload the shells.

Gaizhou City was like an earthquake, and the poor city wall was bombarded with cannon after cannon.

But the defenders on the walls of Gaizhou were powerless and could not do anything.

Because of the death order given by Thunder Eagle, the artillerymen fired at full power, allowing them to shoot very fast.

In just one stick of incense, they completed five rounds of salvos, and when the fifth round of bombardment passed, one of the walls of Gaizhou collapsed, and in a loud noise, the walls of Gaizhou were blasted out, at least three or four zhang of gaps.

"Damn, how can this Ming army's artillery be so terrifying, with this level of bombardment, the city wall can't bear it at all, but there are not many countermeasures on our side."

Geng Zhongming was in Gaizhou City at this time, his face was gloomy, but he said helplessly.

"Yesterday, didn't the emperor say that Shang Kexi was sent to lead the army to help? Why is it not enough to be happy by now, his Haizhou Gaizhou is at most a day's journey. ”

In the end, Geng Zhongming complained that it was still gratifying.

The bombardment of the artillery of the White Dragon Army is still continuing, and they must continue to open a bigger gap.

As for Geng Zhongming and the other defenders, they had already left the city, and they were still standing on the city at this time, which was simply looking for death.

Although the Tartars are brave, no one wants to die in vain.

"General Hajin, now the city wall can't be defended, the artillery of this Ming army is too powerful, we can only put them into the city to fight.

As long as the time is delayed, I have already sent someone to Haizhou to ask for help, the reinforcements led by Shang Kexi are mostly on the road at this time, as long as we hold on until the reinforcements arrive, we can keep Gaizhou. ”

Geng Zhongming suggested at this time, a Tartar Jiala Jingzhang stationed in Gaizhou City.

That Tartar Jiala Jingzhang was not stupid, of course, he could see that the city wall could not be defended at this time, so he agreed to Geng Zhongming's suggestion and prepared to let the White Dragon Army enter the city and fight again.

"Geng Liang, I'll let my subordinates be smarter later." At this time, Geng Zhongming glanced at his henchmen and whispered.

"My lord, I understand." Geng Liang replied in a low voice.

Geng Liang has been following Geng Zhongming for so long, of course he understands what Geng Zhongming means at this time, this is to make them ready to run away!

In fact, at this time, Geng Zhongming was also bitter in his heart, he was chased by Liu Zhong from Jinzhou to Yongning, and then rushed to Gaizhou.

I thought that after escaping to Gaizhou this time, it was finally safe, but knowing that this Ming army still dared to fight, it was a dog.

At this time, it is necessary to say how depressed Geng Zhongming is in his heart.

What made Geng Zhongming even more desperate was that the dignified Gaizhou City seemed to be unable to stop the bombardment of this Ming artillery, and he felt that he had to run away.

A dignified 'traitor king' who was canonized by the Tartars, but at this time he became a 'runaway king' in embarrassment, Geng Zhongming felt bitter!

As for staying behind to resist to the death, for Geng Zhongming, that does not exist, and loyalty to the Tartars is far less important than his own life.

The artillery of the White Dragon Army outside the city continued to bombard a stick of incense for another time, and blasted a gap seven or eight zhang wide in that city wall, and the bombardment stopped.

Originally, Liu Chong thought that the Tartars would take the initiative to kill, so he did not immediately order to rush into the city.

But they waited for a while, and saw that there was not a single tartar in the gap in the wall.

"Hey, Tartar learned to be good this time, most likely because he listened to Geng Zhongming's words, saying that Geng Zhongming's old boy can really run away, and he has already run away in our hands twice."

Tao Qing said with a smile.

"There's no way, that old boy escapes too fast every time, when he was in Jinzhou and Yongning, we just entered the city, and he fled, trying to catch this old fox, it's not easy."

Lei Ying, who came over, said with a smile after hearing Tao Qing's words.

"Order, let the 'trapped' team open the way, cover the musket battalion into the city, and clear the enemy troops in the city as soon as possible." At this time, Liu Zhong ordered.

A group of 'trapped' soldiers entered the city first to clear the way for the musketeers, while the cavalry remained outside to keep guard, and some infantry guarded the artillery outside the city.

Soon after entering the city, the infantry of the White Dragon Army encountered an attack from the Tartars.

This time, these Tartars really learned well, and they relied on the streets of the city, occupied several commanding heights of houses, and shot arrows at the White Dragon Army.

"Array, defense!"

"Hah!"

As one of the trapping officers shouted, all the trapping soldiers immediately came closer together, and then some half-squatted, some upright.

Raise their shields to form an arc of shields, blocking the arrows fired by the Tartars.

"Musketeers come forward, shoot!"

Immediately afterward, only one of the officers behind him shouted loudly, and then the shield formation of the soldiers in the front of the trapped camp instantly cracked a gap, separating to the left and right, revealing the musketeers lined up in three rows behind.

Bang Bang Bang!

Then, fierce gunshots rang out like fried beans, and those Tartars hiding in the houses or behind the courtyard walls, but more often were traitors, and many of them were shot and fell screaming.

"Forward!"

The musketeers marched slowly in a neat line of steps, while keeping their fire uninterrupted.

The soldiers of the trapping camp were on the flanks of the musketeers to ensure that they would not be attacked by the Tartars.

"Damn, these Ming dogs' firearms are so sharp, withdraw!"

Seeing that the ambush had failed, Hajin immediately ordered his men to withdraw and stop them at the next street intersection.

It's just that the struggle of these Tartars is completely futile, from the moment the White Dragon Army collapsed the city wall of Gaizhou and entered the city, the Tartars in the city never had a chance to turn around.

The defenders in Gaizhou City are not only small in number, but more importantly, in this kind of battle in the narrow streets and alleys, the musketeers of the White Dragon Army exert even more terrifying power.

The Tartars wanted to attack the musketeers of the White Dragon Army, but they had to ambush them, rushing to their side and breaking up their formation before the musketeers could react.

Unfortunately, it's too hard to do that.

Not to mention, such an ambush opportunity is too difficult to find, and even if the Tartars do find it, it will be very difficult for them to break through the trapped camp and break up the ranks of musketeers.

Therefore, since the White Dragon Army entered the city, it has been like a bamboo, although the Tartars are still organizing people to resist, but they can only continue to rout.

The musketeers of the White Dragon Army chased the Tartars all the way, killing many of the Tartars, but more of them were traitors, and soon these traitors collapsed.

The traitor soldiers were defeated, and there were less than a hundred Tartars left, even if they wanted to resist, it was useless.

"Geng Liang, quickly retreat."

From the moment Geng Zhongming saw Ha Jin being killed by the White Dragon Army musketeers, he turned around and fled, shouted at Geng Liang, and went straight to the north gate of Gaizhou.

With many Tartars killed in the city and the traitors defeated, the White Dragon musketeers never encountered decent resistance again, and gradually occupied the city.

"Go according to the plan, split up, and move fast."

An officer of the White Dragon Army saw the defenders in the city, and after a complete rout, he immediately gave an order.

Before Liu Chong attacked Gaizhou, he and his generals carefully formulated the steps of the city occupation action.

These infantry and musketeers who entered the city had already divided their tasks and occupied several city gates at the first time, as well as important places such as yamen, grain warehouses, armament warehouses, and silver warehouses.

At the same time, after Liu Chong's initial occupation of Gaizhou, the intelligence officers of the White Dragon Army Intelligence Bureau lurking in the city also contacted them at the first time.

Then, these intelligence officers, with the soldiers of the White Dragon Army, went directly to the yamen, warehouses, arsenals and other places, saving a lot of time for the White Dragon Army.

After the soldiers of the White Dragon Army rushed into the yamen, warehouses and other places, they got the household books, storage account books, etc., and then began to move things.

Liu Chong's order was to leave nothing to the Tartars except for the property of the ordinary people in Gaizhou City.

The first to move the Tartar government, and then the Tartars in the city, the mansions of the traitor generals, the production shops, and the family business of the wealthy gentry who have been working for the Tartars, are all packed and taken away.

After Liu Chong captured Gaizhou this time, his purpose was very clear, on the one hand, it was to shake the Tartars, and on the other hand, it was to loot.

Liu Chong didn't plan to stay for a long time, and he didn't move the people in the city anymore, because there was not enough time.

Because of the proper operation formulated by Liu Chong and the cooperation of the intelligence officers in the city, the looting operation was very fast.

At this time, the city of Gaizhou did not look like it had been conquered by the enemy at all, neither fire everywhere, nor crying and scolding everywhere, nor screaming and wailing.

Although those ordinary officials were trembling one by one, they were all under the control of the White Dragon Army.

The White Dragon Army strictly ordered all the people to close their doors and not go out, but anyone who appeared on the street would be punished as an enemy.

At the same time, the White Dragon Army drove the officials in the city, as well as the slaves of the wealthy gentry who were raided, to carry money, food and materials for them.

A mouthful of large boxes, bags of grain, and pieces of cloth and silk were all loaded into the four-wheeled carriage covered with iron sheets unique to the White Dragon Army and transported outside the city.

(End of chapter)