After marching this way, within two days, they heard the rumble of cannons ahead, and it seemed that they were approaching Jining City.
General Lin was leisurely discussing Jinling and Hangzhou with the high chieftain. Where sister Yao’s butt is relatively big, he saw Hu Bugui rushing in front of him and reported: “General, Jining City is twenty miles ahead. The two armies on the left and the middle have surrounded the north and east gates of Jining, and the navy has sealed off the escape route to Weishan Lake from the south gate. As long as our army goes north and traps Ximen, the White Lotus Army can be surrounded in the city and cannot move."
Jining City is close to the bank of Weishan Lake, which is the birthplace of the northern end of Weishan Lake. With the naval blockade, the White Lotus Army naturally has no way to escape.
Lin Wanrong sneered and said: "The navy blocked it? Can you believe this? When we were in Peixian that day, it was also blocked. Didn't the bastards of the White Lotus Sect come along the lake and attack us without anyone noticing it?" .”
Du Xiuyuan, who was following him, said: "The general doesn't know. Since Pei County was attacked that day, Marshal Xu has thoroughly investigated the Weishan Lake Navy and appointed a new commander. This time, the bandits will never come from Weishan. Fleeing on the lake."
It turned out that Lao Xu had done this before, why didn't I know, it seems that this old man did not deliberately use me as a bait last time, Lin Wanrong nodded and said: "In that case, tell the brothers to slow down and take a break every five miles There is a fire every ten miles, everyone walk slowly."
Hu Bugui was startled and said: "General, how did this happen. Right now the three armies are attacking the city, and they are all waiting for our encirclement."
"Siege? What a fart to encircle." Lin Wanrong smiled and said, "Siege battle after encirclement?"
Hu Bugui wondered, "Don't you want to fight a siege?"
Lin Wanrong smiled and said: "Brother Hu, although I have never been to Jining, the White Lotus Sect has occupied Jining for many years. If this city can be captured so easily, then is it necessary for Marshal Xu to command an army of 100,000 to attack?"
Hu Bugui is from Jining, Wen Fang nodded and said: "The general is very true. The White Lotus Sect has entrenched Jining for many years, and it has long managed Jining into an iron bucket. The city is strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Besides, this is the last of the White Lotus. In the stronghold, all their elites are gathered in the city, and they will never lose the city easily. If they insist on attacking the city, the resistance they encounter must be extremely tenacious. Our army will definitely suffer heavy losses."
Du Xiuyuan smiled and said, "Old Hu, your analysis makes a lot of sense. It seems that I have learned a lot recently."
Hu Bugui proudly said: "That's natural, follow General Lin, can you not learn to be smart?"
Lin Wanrong laughed and scolded: "Stop flattering all of you. Slow down the marching speed, let the brothers eat and drink enough, and have a good rest."
Du Xiuyuan said cautiously: "The three parties in front are all expecting me to encircle Jining on the right, why does the general want the brothers to slow down?"
Hu Bugui also said: "That's right, did General Lin forget that Marshal Xu said that whoever invades Jining City first will be the first to ask for the first credit in front of the emperor."
Please credit? I really didn't care about it, but Hu Bugui and Du Xiuyuan still have to rely on their military exploits to be promoted. Lin Wanrong smiled and said, "Brother Du, let me ask you a question. If you are the leader of the defenders of Jining City, Seeing that there are armies besieging on three sides, and only the west side is silent, how would you feel?"
Du Xiuyuan thought carefully for a while before saying: "Then I must not take it lightly. No movement does not mean there is no danger. On the contrary, the more there is no movement, the more vigilant I should be. If I am defending the army, I must reserve capable forces. Be wary of the west side. Oh, I understand. What the general means is that we block the west side and surround it without fighting. This will not only reduce the sacrifices of our army, but also make the enemy restrained everywhere, and dare not deploy all our troops to the other three go aside."
Lin Wanrong smiled and said, "You're only half right. We surrounded and did not fight. It was a huge pressure on the Bailian army. They were psychologically flustered first, and their combat power would naturally weaken. Of course, the brothers from the other three groups There may be some complaints against us, but half of our 10,000 brothers are cavalry and are not suitable for attacking the city. If the other 5,000 infantry battalions are used to attack the city, then Bailian will definitely mobilize all forces to defend. There were heavy casualties. This business is not cost-effective. Why don't we guard the west gate and conduct offensive and defensive drills from time to time so that these thieves don't dare to act rashly, which can also reduce the pressure on the other three sides. Our painstaking efforts will always be understood .”
"Offensive and defensive drills?" Du Xiuyuan said, "What is offensive and defensive drills?"
Lin Wanrong smiled mysteriously and didn't answer, but Hu Bugui said again: "Then what if the enemy chooses to break out?"
"It's good to break through." Lin Wanrong said with a smile: "Our five thousand cavalry have not yet been used. I can't wait to do things like Yi Yizhi. If they really dare to break through, we will encircle the cavalry and attack the infantry." City, don't delay. Hehe, the one who enters the city first, isn't it still our brother?"
Only then did Du Xiuyuan comprehend the true meaning of it. General Lin really had a great foresight, and it was really a clever plan.
Lin Wanrong led the soldiers on the right, and slowly advanced. After a distance of 20 miles, they arrived at noon.
Looking from a distance, Jining City is really solid and unusual. The white lotus soldiers guarding the city, with their horses wrapped in white gauze, held knives and guns and fought fiercely with the officers and soldiers attacking the city with ladders. These white lotus soldiers and horses were well-trained, although there were only 10,000 of them, but relying on the high walls and dangers of the city, they forcibly killed the officers and soldiers who attacked the city several times.
Lin Wanrong remembered what Xu Wei said before the barracks, saying that the White Lotus Sect had only 5,000 troops, and they were all rabble. People, and they are definitely not mobs, and they don't know where they recruited soldiers and horses.
When the Bailian garrison saw a large army coming from the west road, they immediately became nervous. Thousands of soldiers stood on the city wall, not daring to relax at all.
Lin Wanrong ordered someone to move a chair, put a cup of tea, sat on the chair leisurely, drank a few sips of tea, yawned a few times facing Jining Ximen, and suddenly shouted: "Li Sheng, where is Li Sheng— "
"The last general is here!" Li Sheng responded hastily.
Lin Wanrong said: "Aim your five mighty cannons at the head of Xicheng, hit me a few times hard, and tell these bastards that my brave and invincible right army is coming."
The Shenwu Cannon played a huge role in this attack on Bailian. The plaintiff's ten cannons from the Shenji Battalion were far from enough, so Xu Wei mobilized another twenty newly refitted cannons from Anhui, Shandong and other places, and transported them to the front lines. During the reorganization of Feng County, Lin Wanrong's right army was divided into five divisions, and Zuo Zongyou's left army was also divided into five divisions. Only the Central Route Army led by Tong Cheng had more cavalry, so Xu Wei allocated 20 heavy artillery pieces to them for their siege.
Li Sheng turned the muzzle of the cannon and aimed it at the west gate of Jining, and there was a burst of bombardment. Amidst the loud bang bang, the dust on the west city gate fell down in big chunks, and several white lotus soldiers who were hit by the artillery fell to the city.
Lin Wanrong winked at Hu Bugui, Hu Bugui got off his horse and said loudly, "Boys, come with me—"
Thousands of elite cavalry and three thousand infantry behind him let out a shocking cry, but they charged behind him.
The white lotus army guarding the city hurriedly shot a rain of arrows, which landed far away on the ground, unable to hurt the officers and soldiers.
Hu Bugui was halfway through the charge, when he suddenly waved his hand, all the soldiers behind him stopped, the formation changed, the cavalry returned to the cavalry, the infantry returned to the infantry, and stopped charging forward. He practiced brazenly in front of the defenders.
The white lotus army guarding the city did not dare to slack off at all, watching the actions of the officers and soldiers nervously, unexpectedly, the officers and soldiers in front of them finished their drills and lined up neatly to return to the camp.
Just now the defenders breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly there was another shocking cannon fire, but it was the officers and soldiers' Shenwu cannon roaring again, blasting the city gate to collapse. When the cannon stopped, Du Xiuyuan led another wave of troops to rush up, but he also imitated the way of Hu Bugui, halfway through the attack, he changed formation and practiced again.
The Bai Lian Army was at a loss, but they couldn't slack off, because no one knew when this drill would turn into a real siege. Suddenly, there was a lot of noise in the city, and the Bai Lian soldiers were extremely anxious.
Lin Wanrong smiled, I have plenty of cannonballs, and Li Sheng keeps bombing them day and night, so you can't stop. Tens of thousands of soldiers are divided into three waves, and they take turns to step forward to practice, to see whether you are afraid or not, and whether you are defensive or not. Damn, don't say I have too many people, I just bullied you, what's the matter.
Hu Bugui turned back, dismounted his horse and smiled and said: "The general really has a clever plan, our real and fake halberds won't hurt a single soldier, but the bastards of the White Lotus Sect are always nervous, afraid that they will be scared if they urinate." Got it out."
The other three sides were filled with the sound of cannons, and the sound of fighting became more and more intense. It was obvious that they had entered the critical stage.
"Report to the general, General Tong Cheng, the commander of the Central Route Army, sent a message asking us to cooperate with them in attacking the city!" A messenger reported.
"Report to General Tong and say that our army is conducting a siege drill." Lin Wanrong said.
Seeing the messenger hurrying away, Hu Bugui smiled and said, "I didn't know until yesterday that Zhai Canghai whose leg was broken by us turned out to be Tong's brother-in-law. Zhai Canghai's younger sister is Tong Cheng's favorite. my third concubine."
Really brother-in-law? Damn, I didn't expect to guess right after guessing casually. This Tong Cheng, Zhai Canghai, is a famous teacher. Lin Wanrong glanced in the direction of the Central Route Army, and saw more than twenty cannons firing all the way at Jining City. The bursts of fire sting people's eyes, and the dust rolled up by the explosion covered the top of the city in smoke. middle. The firepower of this surnamed Tong is really fucking powerful. If I bombard me a few times, I will die no matter how good my skills are.
The 10,000 soldiers and horses practiced this back and forth several times, and the Bailian soldiers defending the city became more and more nervous, and they dared not relax.
Hearing the sound of rumbling guns and fighting from the other three sides, Hu Bugui said anxiously: "General, this city of Jining is about to be destroyed. If we don't attack the city, others will take the lead—"
Before Xu Yin fell, he heard a shocking cry, Jining's west gate opened wide, and a group of people rushed out.