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In the cold wind of December, the sky below Sizhou City was dark and gloomy, leaden clouds pressed down on the city, the blaring horns sounded like the roars of wild beasts, and the fluttering flags were faintly visible in the smoke.
After many days of bombardment, the outer wall of Sizhou was already crumbling, but the Qing army's artillery shells continued to whiz in, slamming violently into the riddled stone walls, making earth-shattering noises, like thunder and lightning, deafening.
The Qing army had already exploded many gun barrels, but they still refused to give in. Duoduo had already made up his mind that after taking the city, no one would be left alive. He wanted to use the same bloody massacre as in Yangzhou again to terrify the Qin army and prevent them from resisting the Qing army in the future.
Boom!
Under the bombardment of artillery shells, a loud cracking sound suddenly came from the top of the city wall, causing the city and its surroundings to fall silent. The thick smoke and dust blocked the view, making it difficult to see what had happened.
When the smoke and dust gradually settled, they finally saw that the outer wall had collapsed more than ten feet, revealing a huge gap. The 70,000 Qing troops suddenly burst into cheers and roars like a tsunami, and then Duoduo ordered his men to blow the horn for a full-scale attack.
Urged by the low sound of the horn, the 20,000 Qing troops who had been prepared rushed towards the collapsed gap like a torrent bursting through a dam. The momentum was enough to destroy mountains and topple hills, and it was difficult to stop.
Under the command of Yan Yingyuan, the Qin army in the city was still trying to block the gap. On the city wall near the gap, more than a dozen Portuguese cannons roared angrily. Tongues of fire flashed in the smoke. The spurting shotgun shells formed a horrifying barrage, causing the approaching Qing army to fall down one after another. Flesh and blood splattered, and limbs rolled down. The bloody scene was like a sheepfold torn apart by wolves.
Batai was a white-armored soldier, known for his bravery, and he rushed to the front. The whistling marble cut off a corner of his head, and blood and thick brain matter flowed all over his face.
His majestic body fell to the ground with a thud, his mouth opened and he howled, but he could not hear his own howling. The entire battlefield became a silent picture in his eyes.
The world in his eyes was dyed red by the blood that kept gushing out. The figures of countless comrades rushing past in the hail of bullets turned into a scarlet color. Bloody corpses could be seen everywhere on the ground around him.
The fear of death filled Batai's heart, making his eyes widen in fear. He tried his best to scream, but he could hear nothing. In the end, during the violent convulsions, the world in front of him gradually darkened... ... ... ..
The death of their companions could not stop the Qing army. The blood in the eyes of the dying was terrifying. For those who were not injured, the bloody scene made them even more crazy. They rushed to the collapsed gap one after another.
Two thousand Qin soldiers used their flesh and blood to block the gap. They endured the violent storm of the Qing army. The two armies were in a stalemate, relying on murderous aura to kill each other. The sharp spears pierced the intestines and stomachs, and the bright steel knives chopped off the arms and heads. The gap of more than ten feet wide was crowded with thousands of people from both sides, layer upon layer, shouting like a tide.
The fallen people, whether dead or alive, were instantly trampled into a ball by countless feet, and their flesh and blood turned into a blurry mud...
The Qing army's momentum remained undiminished, like a rainbow piercing the sun. The Qin army was finally defeated and began to fight and retreat. Seeing this, the Qing army cheered wave after wave, louder than the other, so loud that it could stop the moving clouds and reach the sky.
Even Duoduo breathed a sigh of relief. Although there was still a real city wall, in this situation, unless the Qin army ignored the thousands of people outside the city, the Qing army would inevitably rush in.
Seeing victory in sight, Duoduo drew his sword and was about to order the following troops to rush in together.
Suddenly, the ground shook violently. Duoduo was standing at least three or four miles away from the breach in the city wall, and he could still feel the strong vibration spreading. Then several huge balls of fire shot up into the sky from the inside of the breach in the city wall, raising dust dozens of feet high, covering the sky and the sun.
Then came a series of loud bangs that made people's chests ache. Boom! Boom! Boom... one after another. Duoduo couldn't even tell whether it was the fifth or sixth bang. The dull feeling in his heart made his blood rush to his head, and his scalp felt numb.
Each explosion required at least hundreds of kilograms of explosives to form such a violent shock wave. The Qing troops, who were crowded in the gap, were like scarecrows. They were blown to pieces and rushed into the air with the dust. Countless casualties were found.
The Qing troops outside seemed to be stunned. The wave-like cheers stopped and the battlefield was silent. Everyone looked at the gap in horror. Smoke and dust covered the sky and nothing could be seen. It was as if the place had suddenly become a dark hell and countless demons were tearing apart corpses.
This extremely tragic scene made Duoduo's pupils shrink little by little and his heart twitched. "Ah!" A heart-wrenching cry burst out of his mouth, and at the same time he spurted out a mouthful of blood.
Duoduo's roar attracted a response, and the shouts and cries of killing that rang out in Sizhou City were like turbid waves clearing away, shaking the heavens and the earth.
Yan Yingyuan had a sturdy body, prominent eyebrows, long and narrow eyes, a red face and a beard, and he held a large sword like Guan Gong. Under his leadership, all 10,000 Qin troops rushed out like a pack of wolves, with swords flashing in formation and murderous aura. The Qing troops, who were terrified by the explosion, were like ants under the waves, and were instantly covered by the swords... ... .
The army fights based on morale. The Qing army was frightened by the thrilling explosion. Although the gap in the outer wall collapsed in the explosion and became larger, the tragic casualties made them no longer have the courage to attack.
The Qin army rushed back like a wave, killing the 20,000 Qing troops in charge of the attack and making them completely defeated. Duoduo didn't even have time to wipe the blood from his mouth, and hurriedly ordered tens of thousands of troops outside to provide support.
After the Qin army had chased them for several dozen steps, Yan Yingyuan saw that he had gained ground and immediately sounded the horn to call back his troops. The Qin army cheered, abandoned the outer city, and retreated back into the city.
In the short attack that lasted less than an hour, the Qing army suffered nearly five thousand casualties. What does five thousand soldiers mean? If the bodies were piled up, they would be enough to form a mountain of corpses.
The Qin army only paid the price of more than 300 casualties in this battle. This casualty ratio of one to more than ten made Duoduo's heart ache.
King of Hell, if it is King Yama!
Yan Yingyuan's nickname "King Yama" had become indestructible in the eyes of the Qing army.
Compared with the more than 4,000 casualties, the loss of morale was what Duoduo was most worried about.
The Qin army retreated into the city with joy of victory. The remaining outer city was left with only corpses on the ground. The wind was sad and the sun was dim, the sky was gloomy and soul-stirring. Birds could not fly down and the setting sun was as red as blood.
The miserable groans of some seriously injured who were not dead yet sounded like the cries of wild ghosts. A few crows landed on the dead branches that were blown away without a single leaf. Kites cried and pecked at people's intestines. Defeated horses wailed to the sky. Blood and flesh filled the holes in the city walls. The sky was gloomy and dark, which made people sad and miserable. The heaven and earth were filled with sorrow.
"Your Highness..." Ning Wanwo stood beside Duoduo, wanting to comfort him but didn't know how to start.
Duoduo said in a voice without any emotion: "Withdraw the troops and return to the camp."
These days, the progress has been relatively smooth. The Qing army has been suppressing the Qin army, and the Qin army in the city even feels powerless to fight back.
The sudden heavy blow today made Duoduo feel like he had hit a rock wall.
After returning to the camp, he remained silent for a long time, like a cold statue.
Ning Wanwo advised: "Your Highness, although our army has suffered some casualties, we have already taken the outer city. Sizhou City is not big, only two miles wide from north to south. After our artillery is pushed into the outer city, it can completely cover the entire city. Then the Qin army will have nowhere to hide..."
Duoduo nodded lightly. In fact, he, who had been fighting since childhood, would not be discouraged by this setback. He quickly called Malaxi, Gong Adai, Xihan, Tong Tulai, Zuo Menggeng, Li Yongfang, Sun Degong, Zu Dale and others to the big tent to discuss the strategy for tomorrow's siege.
At this time, the person sent by Xia Chengde to report the news just arrived and was brought into the tent by Duoduo's personal guards.
"Your Majesty, we have learned that Qin Mu has arrived in Chuzhou and is taking Hongniang out of the city to hunt..."
The news brought by Xia Chengde's messenger made Duoduo and others very excited.
As the ruler of a country, Qin Mu actually went to Chuzhou to hunt with Hong Niangzi at this time. If the messenger had not guaranteed it with his head, they would hardly believe it was true.
"Mr. Ning, what do you think Qin Mu means?" Duoduo asked.
Ning Wan thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I don't think this is strange. Qin Mu is only in his early twenties, and it is normal for him to be obsessed with beauty. According to intelligence, Qin Mu and Hong Niangzi have been flirting for a long time, and this is a fact. He just defeated Hong Chenghong's army of more than 200,000, so I'm afraid he may not take your 80,000 troops seriously. In addition, Chuzhou is only a hundred miles away from Jinling, so he must be even more confident."
"You mean he doesn't take my 80,000 troops seriously at all?"
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.(To be continued..)
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