When he arrived at Gongbu, Lin Chengxiang learned from the Ming army guarding the city that Mu Qiyuan had left Gongbu five days ago. He rested at Gongbu for one night. Early the next morning, the army immediately set off and chased after him. Mu Qiyuan's steps were very close to Lhasa.
From Gongbu to Lhasa, there is a small city of Jiangda in the middle. What Lin Chengxiang encountered in Jiangda was not Tibetan soldiers and Tibetans, but a small number of Han armed forces. Needless to say, they must have been temporarily armed by Mu Qiyuan.
Lin Chengxiang hurried to Lhasa. When he arrived in Lhasa, Mu Qiyuan had already encountered Tanjong Wangbo’s Sixth Army, Seventh Army, and Eighth Army outside the city. Nearly 10,000 elite troops were annihilated by the Ming Army. Also used artillery to blow up the southwest corner of Lhasa City.
Because Mu Qiyuan separated Liu Zhenyu's 55th Army to seize Gyangze, there were only 20,000 siege troops left by his side. Seeing Lin Chengxiang's return, he was rude and immediately commanded Lin Chengxiang's army to enter the city.
There are already less than 20,000 defenders in the city. They are all local army in Lhasa, half army and half civilian, and their combat effectiveness is only stronger than ordinary Tibetans. They have been scared by the artillery of the Ming army, Mu Qiyuan and Lin Chengxiang's When the army entered the city, they immediately dispersed like a bird and beast, and no longer looked like an army.
The Ming army used flintlocks to chase the Tibetan army in the city. In fact, they couldn't tell whether it was a Tibetan soldier or a Tibetan. Whenever they saw a strong Tibetan, they would shoot at all times.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the city, the Ming army began to search for gold and silver properties again.
It wasn't until Haishi that the city gradually settled down. The people were so scared to hide in their houses. They didn't even dare to probe. They washed the people of Lhasa who had been baptized by the war and knew how to save themselves in the war.
Early the next morning, Mu Qiyuan led the soldiers of the 19th Army to Gyangze to meet Liu Zhenyu, while Lin Chengxiang’s 20th Army would leave two days later. He had to settle the people in the city and establish a temporary Lhasa military government. .
Tibetans believe in Buddhism and basically have nothing to do with the world. Without the manipulation of political and religious figures, they did not oppose the ability of the Ming army to station in the city, as long as the Ming army does not threaten their lives.
The temples near the city of Lhasa were the focus of the soldiers’ search. The famous Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery were destroyed by the war at Danjongwangpo last year. Due to Danjongwangpo’s extreme hatred of the Yellow Sect, these two famous temples did not During the reconstruction, outside Lhasa, the temples represented by the Ganden Monastery of the Huang Sect and the Zu Temple Bu of the Bai Sect were thoroughly investigated by the Ming army.
When the soldiers came to Ganden Monastery, the monks who knew they could not resist the Ming army came out from the temple in batches, blocking the gate of the temple and preventing the Ming army from entering. Because of the language barrier, the two sides could not communicate directly. The soldiers of the Twentieth Army shot the monks in front of the temple with flintlock guns.
The monks were also stubborn. One group died, and another group came out. They did not resist, and there was no hatred in their eyes. They just rushed to sacrifice their lives for the temple and the Buddha, and let the Ming army shoot them. They were quite "non-violent and uncooperative." "Means.
Most soldiers of the Ming Army did not believe in Buddhism, at least they were not devout Buddhists. Naturally, they could not understand the sufferings of the monks. They have been killing more than 3,000 monks, and no monks in the temple came out to sit and stand in the way. They thought that the monks in the temple had been killed. , Rob the temple together.
After entering the gate of the temple, the soldiers discovered that more than a thousand child monks were cleaning the hall, as if they had not seen the Ming army.
The soldiers of the Ming Army didn't care about these monks, as long as they didn't prevent themselves from collecting gold and silver treasures. Some greedy soldiers even took away the golden Buddha in the temple.
Lhasa is called the former Tibet by the Tibetans. It is the center of activity for the Tibetans. It is also the place with the most concentrated population of Uszang. There are as many as 150,000. Lin Chengxiang left the 58th Division stationed in Lhasa and took the rest with him. The soldiers headed towards Gyangze and Shigatse.
To the north of Xigaze, there is the Yarlung Zangbo River that almost traverses the east and west of Ustse-Tibet, and to the south is the Lagai Gangri Mountains that run east-west. The traffic is difficult and roads are difficult to navigate. Gyangze is the only canyon trail between Lhasa and Xigaze, which is more dangerous than Tongguan on the Yellow River. Hundreds of times, once Gyangze is occupied by Tibetan soldiers, the Ming army's west expedition is likely to end.
Therefore, before attacking Lhasa, Mu Qiyuan struggled with insufficient strength and also ordered Liu Zhenyu's 55th Division to occupy Gyangze first, paving the way for the army to continue its west expedition.
When Mu Qiyuan arrived in Gyangze, Liu Zhenyu’s 55th Division had already passed Gyangze for the most part, and set up a defensive formation to the south to cover the passage of the subsequent army. After Mu Qiyuan passed Gyangze, he left a regiment of soldiers. According to the guard, the rest of the army immediately approached in the direction of Shigatse.
Xigaze is almost the second largest city in Ustse, with a population second only to Lhasa. As the actual center of rule of Tanjongwangpo, he now lives in Xigaze.
After the Ming army entered Ustizang, the eight elite troops formed by Danjung Wangpo had already been annihilated by the Ming army in Gongbu and Lhasa. This made Danjung Wangpo terrified. He hardly knew how to deal with the Ming army. .
Among the eight elites of Danjongwangpo, three are resident in the Shigatse area, and the other one is stationed in the Ngari area on the plateau of northern Tibet.
He was forced to gather the First Army, Third Army, and Fourth Army near Shigatse, and gathered the skirmishers from the nearby castle to Shigatse, in an attempt to resist the city.
Shigatse was turned into a post-Tibet by the Tibetans. It was almost the same as the former Tibet’s Lhasa. It was also the home of Danjong Wangpo. Mu Qiyuan knew the meaning of this battle. Once Xigaze was defeated, the task of quelling the Uz-Tibet riots would be Basically over, the next step is to clean up the remaining militants.
The Tibetan soldiers are all concentrated in the city, and there must be a lot of them. Mu Qiyuan did not attack rashly. He was waiting for Lin Chengxiang's Twentieth Army.
Lin Chengxiang finally came to Xigaze, and nearly fifty thousand Ming troops quickly completed the siege of Xigaze.
In fact, Tanjong Wangpo is not ready to abandon the city and flee. He is unwilling to give up the Uszang and Shigatse that he has painstakingly managed. Otherwise, before the Ming army encircles Shigatse, he can leave Yadong through the South Gate and flee to Mala. Dynasty (now Nepal), he was going to confront the Ming army in Xigaze.
It was just like dealing with the Gelug faction and the Mongolian coalition forces last year, finally defeating them and regaining the dominance over Uszang.
But Danjong Wangbo also knew that the strength of the Ming army was comparable to that of the non-coalition army. Therefore, he did not rush out of the city to fight. He wanted to use the walls of Xigaze to block the pace of the Ming army.
He warned his generals that the Ming army would be struggling from a long distance, and it would be quick to fight. The long confrontation would not keep up with the transportation of grain and grass, and would inevitably retreat. At that time, if they went out of the city to pursue and kill, they would win a complete victory.
However, the Ming army did not attack according to common sense like the Mongols.
The Ming Army did not prepare a ladder to attack the city, but concentrated all the twenty artillery pieces of the two armies outside the relatively open South City Gate.
"Military seat, the artillery has been debugged, should the gun be fired immediately?"
Mu Qiyuan looked at the lively defenders on the top of the city, and he felt a strange excitement in his heart, "Shoot immediately and target the city. First, frighten these Tibetan soldiers who have never seen the world, and let them know the consequences of using the mantle arm as a car. ."
"Yes, army seat." Chuan Lingbing made a military salute to Mu Qiyuan and turned to pass the order.
The gunners began to load the bullets, because the front part of the gun barrel was equipped with a sight and a door, it was much easier to aim.
"Boom... Long..."
"Boom... Long..."
"Boom... Long..."
…
Twenty artillery, all targeted at the head of the city occupied by the defending army, 20 blooming shells, drawn in a streamline, dragged a long tail gas, and flew quickly toward the head of the city.
The defenders had never seen artillery, and saw the blooming bullets flying towards the city. They thought that the Ming army had released flying birds such as homing pigeons and goshawks into the city. They didn’t understand the Ming army’s intentions. Asuka shot down.
The speed of "Flying Bird" was too fast, far beyond the imagination of the defenders. Before they had finished opening their bows and arrows, "Flying Bird" had already arrived at the head of the city and swooped down low.
The defenders were shocked. Before they had time to escape, "Asuka" had already exploded at the city.
The defenders were in chaos. For a time, they saw broken limbs flying around. The air was like a rain of blood. When the bomb exploded, the city was full of defenders with lack of arms and legs. This was not the worst. The worst is the wounded soldier with only arms and legs.
The huge explosion made the living defenders on the front of the city lose their hearing for a while. I don't know if this is regarded as an injury. If this is also an injury, then the defenders on the front of the city are almost all casualties.
The Ming army continued its shelling. Those defenders who complained at the head of the city once again experienced the ruthlessness of the bombs. Only a few defenders ran away when the bombs came to the city again.
The defenders who did not run away no longer need to run, or in other words, they no longer have the ability to run.
"The artillery fire stretched for three hundred steps, two rounds of shelling."
"Yes, Army Seat."
The artillery fire stretched for three hundred steps and enveloped the vicinity of the city. The soldiers who had just escaped, or the soldiers who were going to see the excitement, became new targets.
What happened inside the city, the Ming army outside the city could not see, nor did they need to see it. The defenders could no longer be seen on the top of the city. With their toes, the Ming army could guess what kind of casualties happened on the top of the city. .
Seeing that the goal of deterring the defenders had been achieved, Mu Qiyuan ordered the gunner to adjust the muzzle: "Target city wall, multiple rounds of shelling."
All the blooming shells are aimed at the city wall. Now the hit rate of the artillery is very high. More than half of the blooming shells fall directly on the city wall. Even if it does not fall on the city wall, it will fall not far in front. When the blooming bomb explodes, The base of the city wall can still be shaken.
At the beginning, the city wall remained motionless, only a small amount of dust fell in the explosion of the flower bomb, which was shaken far away by the shock wave.
More and more blooming bullets fell on the city wall. Mu Qiyuan could see with the naked eye that the city wall was already shaking slightly. I didn't know if it was the whole city wall or the upper part of the city wall.
"Keep on shelling, don't stop."
As if he didn't need money, he was flying towards the city wall. Mu Qiyuan knew that once the city of Shigatse was broken, Uszang would no longer have a big city, and he might no longer need artillery, so he no longer cared about the bombs.
"Boom..."
Just when Mu Qiyuanxun was falling asleep, the southern city wall collapsed, and a large piece of mud collapsed from the middle of the city wall. The mud on the top was still there, and the bottom was half a foot high, as if God opened it to the Ming army. A door to victory.