***
It was not until the Qin army took control of the horse road entrance and raised fire as a signal that the artillery fire outside the city stopped. Then the Qing army in the hiding cave woke up as if from a dream. They rushed out one after another, howling and rushing towards the top of the city along the horse road.
"Shoot!" Mandula felt a chill down his spine when he found that the Qin army was already on the city wall. He stood up and roared loudly. The Qing army's rain of arrows then flooded the top of the city wall, puffing like rain.
Wu Yingfu hid under the parapet to avoid the rain of arrows from the Qing army. Wu Chang Fang Zhou poked half of his head out of the horse path and saw a large number of Qing soldiers rushing up the horse path with shields raised. He immediately shouted: "Thunder bombs, explode quickly, blow them up!"
Wu Yingfu also stretched his head to look, then drew back, took off the five thunder bombs on his body, lit them, threw them, boom! lit them, threw them, boom! lit them, threw them, boom... Without even raising his head, he threw the thunder bombs onto the horse path, bursting into balls of fire and loud noises. The Qing army that rushed onto the horse path was screaming in agony, and suffered heavy casualties.
There were twenty or thirty Qin soldiers like Wu Yingfu. They threw down a string of thunder bombs, and the road was filled with smoke and shrapnel. The Qing soldiers rushed up and fell down in batches, and the corpses soon piled up into a low wall.
Wu Yingfu also took the time to ask: "Captain Wu, are we attacking or defending the city?"
"Stop talking nonsense. Hurry up! The enemy is coming again. We need to fight hard this time. Hurry up, everyone, form a battle formation."
Amid Fang Zhou's roar, Wu Yingfu stood up and looked down, only to see a group of Qing army supervisors holding swords standing under the horse path, shouting like tigers, and immediately killing anyone who dared to retreat. The Qing army that had just retreated due to the explosion rushed forward again under the killing of those supervisors.
Wu Yingfu and his men had used up all their thunder bombs, so they had no choice but to fight to the death. Under Fang Zhou's command, large shields thumped to the ground one after another. A wall was built at the entrance of the horse trail. Fang Zhou was about to order a dive down the trail, but Wu Yingfu saw a lot of things piled up on the top of the wall where the fire was faintly lit. He suddenly shouted, "Captain Wu, use rolling logs and stones..."
These things were originally prepared by the Qing army to deal with the Qin army. After Wu Yingfu reminded them, the Qin soldiers took action one after another. One by one, rolling logs and pieces of stones rumbled down the slope of the horse road. There were also collapsed city gate towers and a large number of bricks and stones scattered on the top of the city. They all became the best weapons of the Qin army;
Really. These weapons are much better than arrows, swords and spears. Arrows cannot penetrate the enemy's iron shields, or even the enemy's heavy armor, but stones weighing 20 to 30 kilograms can smash down any shield or heavy armor;
The Qing soldiers who rushed onto the horse path were thrown to the ground again, screaming in agony, and the limbs hit by the rocks made crackling sounds of broken bones, which made people's teeth limp. Some helmets rolled around, and many had broken heads and blood... ... ..
The Qing troops below the city continued to shoot arrows. Wu Yingfu and his men also suffered heavy casualties, but as more and more Qin troops rushed to the top of the city, these fresh troops were armed with thunder bombs, which they threw down from the city, causing balls of fire and explosions. The broken limbs of the Qing troops below the city flew everywhere, and the air was filled with blood and rain.
Under such a brutal blow, the Qing army, whose morale was already very low, finally collapsed. No matter how the supervising team killed them, they just screamed and fled.
"kill!"
“Kill!”
The Qin army on the top of the city roared, their morale high as a rainbow. They swooped down, chasing the defeated Qing army with all their might, killing them as if they were chopping melons and vegetables, feeling extremely happy.
"We want prisoners, we want prisoners, Ah Fu, don't kill..." Fang Zhou yelled.
Poof! Blood splattered under Wu Yingfu's knife, and another head rolled far away. "Captain Wu, stop it!"
"Afu, you son of a bitch, you have no intention of stopping. Forget it, forget it, kill them!" Fang Zhou yelled while chasing and killing them. At this time, rationality should go to hell. The Tartars killed so many of us, let's kill them to get our money's worth first...
Outside the city, Jin Shenghuan and the deputy chief Zhao Han breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the south gate being opened, the drawbridge being lowered, and the Qin army rushing in with torches in hand, cheering like waves.
"Lord Zhao, you can report the victory to the King of Qin."
Zhao Han smiled and said, "Let's wait until the situation in the city stabilizes tomorrow before reporting. This way, we can report an accurate number of enemies killed and captured. Qin Mu is used to speaking in numbers. As for a simple victory report like taking Xuzhou, even if we are late, the King of Qin will be the first to know the news of the great victory."
Jin Shenghuan was slightly startled when he heard this, thinking of the ubiquitous Ye Bu Shou, and the fact that under the guidance of the King of Qin, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue competed to study arithmetic. As Zhao Han said, Qin Mu hated those empty words the most.
Such a simple message as "Xuzhou has been captured" would have been passed on to King Qin by Ye Bushu as quickly as possible, and what they passed back should have been a series of accurate figures such as their own casualties, ammunition consumption, enemy annihilation, prisoners captured, spoils of war, and food supplies.
"Thank you, Lord Zhao. I am grateful for your advice." Jin Shenghuan bowed sincerely to Zhao Han.
"You're welcome, General Jin."
***
With 5,000 troops against 10,000, Xuzhou could not hold out for more than a day and a night. When the news reached Fengyang, Duoduo was struck by lightning.
Ning Wanwo rushed in, panting and pointing at the map, and said to Duoduo: "Your Highness, we may have made a serious mistake in our judgment of Qin Mu's overall strategy, because Jin Shenghuan only has 10,000 people. We always thought that the strategic goal of the Qin army was to seize Fengyang and Shouzhou south of the Huai River. Now it seems that we have been fooled by Qin Mu."
Duoduo's heart tightened, and he said hurriedly: "Master Ning, please explain clearly."
Ning Wanwo continued, “Your Highness, this time the Qin navy did not enter the Huai River to control the Huai River waterway and cut off our army’s north-south traffic, but instead cooperated with Jin Shenghuan to go north. There is a big problem in this;
Your Majesty, please look, this is Xuzhou, this is Jining, the Grand Canal runs through it, now Xuzhou has been captured by Jin Shenghuan, Jining has also been controlled by the rebel army, and it will soon be connected to Xuzhou;
Your Majesty, if I guess correctly, the goal of the Qin army is not just to seize Fengyang and Shouzhou to consolidate the Huaihe River defense line. Qin Mu is fearless. He should not defend, but always maintain an offensive posture;
Therefore, he actually did not care about the Huaihe River defense line. His goal was most likely to continue to advance northward along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and control the cities on both sides of the canal one by one by infiltration.
To the north of Jining is Liangshan Lake, which is also a place where rioters gather. It is possible that Ye Bu Shou is leading these rioters. Further north is Dongchang Prefecture, where our military strength is also extremely weak.
Your Majesty, if Dongchang Prefecture is also controlled by the Qin army, with the current rebellion situation in full swing, the Shandong area east of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal will be cut off by the Qin army's points on both sides of the canal, and Shandong will definitely be completely out of control by then. "
Duoduo frowned and asked, "You mean, Qin Mu's target is Shandong?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Qin Mu's target should be Shandong. Your Majesty, have you heard about the leapfrog tactics Qin Mu adopted when he went east from Wuchang? Now the people are on the side of Qin, and the Qin army has the advantages of firearms and navy. If Qin Mu uses internal support to implement this leapfrog tactics again on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, it is very likely.
Your Majesty, if Shandong really gets out of control, then the Qing Dynasty will be doomed. Shandong can easily attack the Liaodong Peninsula by sea. In addition, there is now a rebellion by Jiang Ge in Shanxi. Shandong and Shanxi will form two iron pincers, cutting off Northern Zhili from the Central Plains..."
Ning Wanwo's words made Duoduo feel cold in his heart. Now in Henan, Shaanxi, Shandong and other places, there were righteous flags everywhere and smoke of war was rising. Inspired by the Qin army's repeated victories, the Han people were no longer willing to accept the rule of the Qing Dynasty and rose up in resistance. The people's hearts were with the Qin State.
Moreover, the Qin army's Ye Bushou took incitement and rebellion to the extreme. If they hadn't incited behind the scenes, the Central Plains wouldn't have been in such chaos. Now that the Qin army has won a great victory, it has become even easier for Ye Bushou to incite the people.
As cities such as Xuzhou and Jining fell one after another, the rebellion in the Qing Dynasty's ruling area would only intensify. If the Central Plains could not be stabilized quickly, Shandong could not be controlled, and the rebellion in Shanxi could not be quelled, the Qing Dynasty would really be finished... ...
"Master Ning, tell me, what should we do now?"
"Withdraw the troops, Your Majesty. The only way now is to withdraw the troops. First stabilize Huaibei and Shandong, and then transfer troops to quell Jiang Ge's rebellion. Your Majesty, now is the time of urgency, and there is no time to hesitate."
"Are you really going to give up Fengyang and Shouzhou?"
"No, let Ashan defend Shouzhou to the death. As for Fengyang, leave Aobai to hold on. This will delay the Qin army for a while. Otherwise, if the 100,000 Qin troops in the south directly advance to Huaibei, the situation will be out of control."
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ps: Although I have been standing on the edge of the cliff, I have been supported by my brothers, so I have not fallen down in the past two days. However, after all, I am still standing on the edge of the cliff, and others can catch up with two or three votes. My heart is always hanging. I was worried before going to bed last night, so I gritted my teeth and got two monthly subscription tickets to vote for myself. I hope my brothers can understand this feeling;
For a long time, my book was hardly seen on the recommended pages of Qidian. Now it has a chance to see the light of day only if it makes it to the monthly ticket list of the category. I cherish this very much. I have voted all five monthly tickets this month. Moreover, only when everyone adds fuel can the flames burn higher. I am counting on all of you brothers.
Please give me a monthly ticket!
Please give me a monthly ticket!
.(To be continued..)
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