The siege entered the third day, around this small city, tens of thousands of people were divided into three shifts, day and night to build forts, for the Han artillery artillery siege heavy artillery forts, at first because of the lack of iron and wood, the progress of the project has been very slow, but with the development of the cavalry units of the Chinese army, the Eight Banners stragglers who were originally defeated by the Ma Ying troops were either annihilated, or escaped into the deep mountains and old forests, and the tail wing of the army was completely wiped out. Under the urging of Lin Feng, the iron tools of Anshan and the timber of Haichengzi were in place one after another, tens of thousands of mules and horses were flowing back and forth, and the forts on the four highlands of Liaoyang City were completed one by one.

The fierce artillery battle began in the early morning of last night, and it has been a full six hours, and the artillery firepower of Liaoyang City and the technical ability of the artillery unit have greatly exceeded Lin Feng's expectations, according to the information before the war, the number of defensive artillery in Liaoyang City seems to be small, in addition to the small artillery, there are only two heavy artillery pieces of more than 2,000 catties, but as far as the current situation is concerned, this information is obviously wrong. Judging from the sudden artillery attack last night, there are at least five or more red-coated cannons in Liaoyang City, and the gunners who operate these heavy artillery are also quite high-quality, and the response is also extremely fast, in fact, when the Han artillery just fired three waves of shells at four o'clock in the morning, the artillery of the defensive artillery immediately began to return fire, and the amazing thing is that the defenders' return fire was extremely accurate, the first wave of return fire ranging, the second wave of correction, and the third wave directly hit the fort outside the city, and then the two sides fired fiercely, The advantage of the Han artillery was superior to the number and strong fortifications, while the Qing artillery used the pulleys under the gun mounts to frequently shift firing positions on the wide city walls at great speed, and desperately returned fire with mobile and flexible tactics.

In fact, Lin Feng's understanding of the Eight Banners has always been kept in the absurd fantasy of the Eight-Nation Alliance's entry into Beijing, which is really unbelievable, and it is really unbelievable that he actually has such a powerful artillery in the military system similar to the primitive commune of the Eight Banners, which is similar to the military system of "going out for the soldiers and entering for the people".

After a night and a half of fierce artillery battles, at this moment outside Liaoyang City has long been a mess, because the number of heavy artillery enough to shoot is not enough, in order to cover their own heavy artillery, the Qing army in the artillery battle of large and small artillery fired together, and the heavy artillery is in a small cannon burst out of the muzzle flame concealed movement, in the seventeenth century, the lack of ballistic mathematics technology, shooting with simple geometric arithmetic assisted direct aiming era, is indeed very effective, and under the effect of this tactic, the open space outside Liaoyang City is full of different shades of artillery pits, as if it has been gnawed by dogs.

Frankly speaking, because of the frequent rumors of Ma Yingjie's reports, the Han army, including Lin Feng, was inevitably a little complacent, and took Liaoyang City's small army of three or four thousand people lightly, but after the artillery battle, without waiting for Lin Feng to speak, Mu Tianyan, the chief of staff of the army, immediately found out the information of the Liaoyang defenders who had been neglected and handed it to Lin Feng's desk.

In the late autumn of Liaoyang, it was getting colder and colder, and before the frost fell, Lin Feng, who was not in good health, ordered the guards to build a warm basin in the big tent of the Chinese army, compared with the whistling and dry wind outside, the tent was warm and humid, and it was extremely comfortable.

Mu Tianyan, chief of staff of the Guards, is the first batch of Jin Shi of the Han Army to join the army, it is a bit funny, he entered the Han Army system is quite dramatic, originally Mu Tianyan did not think about participating in any "rebel army", in fact, he himself has a deep and steady personality, and he is not a very fierce and indignant youth, but it is a pity that when he left his hometown Ningzhou to Henan to celebrate his uncle's birthday the year before, he unexpectedly encountered a peasant uprising organized by Yang Qilong, and almost died in a war, fortunately he himself is still clever, Coaxed the righteous army in disguise, and then followed the large group of refugees into Gyeonggi in a chaotic manner, and saw the Han army open the imperial examination in desperation, and signed up for the "Han Reverse Forest Bandits", but unexpectedly came to run the high school jinshi, and then entered the military system as an instructor in Mazhuang martial arts, and when the Han army Lin Feng Marshal was promoted to the king of Han, the whole army was restructured, because of the excellent skills of the Han Army, he was transferred to the General Staff of the Han Army as the chief of the Liaodong Division, and then moved to the chief of staff of the Guards Army, and was awarded the rank of colonel.

At this time, the generals in the tent were silent, for how to quickly take down the fortified Liaoyang, everyone couldn't come up with any good ideas for a while, silent for a long time, seeing that his colleagues were silent, Mu Tianyan, who was the head of the staff, was a little helpless, but he had to stand respectfully, frowning and reporting, "My lord, originally according to the detailed report, this enemy general of Tongliao can be a watcher, only the pseudo-Qing Liaoyang prefect Shaoxing Yao Qisheng, but according to the battle situation, it seems that we have a small glimpse of this Tongliao guard." ”

Lin Feng was a little annoyed, brushed the file in hand casually, and said unhappily, "Didn't you all brag to me, saying that Yao Qisheng has a grudge against the Eight Banners, and this Cai Yurong is a child of the Eight Banners, and he is a straw bag if he can't fight the war, so it's easy for us to fight Liaoyang, why do you have to change your words this time?!" ”

Mu Tianyan's face was flushed, and his face was so embarrassed that he was almost dripping blood, and he was extremely embarrassed, "cough...... Cough...... The lord atoned for his sins, in fact, according to the meaning of his humble duties, this Yao Qisheng was repeatedly belittled by the Qing court, not long ago, this dignified jinshi was actually put by his boss to raise horses at the Three Rivers Horse Farm, which can be described as humiliating, and this time the Eight Banners were not available, so he was reactivated, so he thought that Yao Qisheng would probably not be sincere......"

"Okay, even if Yao Qisheng is guessed correctly by you, then what's the matter with Cai Yurong?!" Lin Feng said mockingly, "The 'straw bales' of the Eight Banners are all dragged like this? Aren't we going to drink the northwest wind?! ”

“…… Cough...... cough ......" Mu Tianyan avoided Lin Feng's mocking gaze, bowed his head and said, "Back to the lord, according to the military commander's privy envoy Wang Daren, Cai Yurong, the Han army is a white flag person, Fengtian people, because the ancestors are meritorious from the dragon, Yin official to the leader, before our detailed work only found that this person loves to read and does not like bow horses, but he is not good at academics, and he can't even pass the exam, and later he used a literati to fill the military position, so he thought it was ...... Cough...... Ahem"

"So you think this guy is mediocre?" Lin Feng snorted, his heart was really crying and laughing, it seems that although these guys have become officers, the sour smell of the scholars is still very strong, and the old problem of looking at people in the crack of the door can't be changed, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Alas, I said Heming, you are now a big Han minister, a colonel chief of staff, I am still ready to entrust me to the left and right, how can I see such a short-sightedness?" - Oh, is it possible that this Cai Yurong can't write eight shares well, so he can't lead soldiers? I really don't know what you guys think, what does the "Zizhi Tongjian" say? "For the generals, it is useless to read the micro, and it is okay to look at the general outline", this sage doesn't have a lesson, not to mention that throughout the ages, there have been many guys who pretend to be pigs and eat tigers, and Lu Meng is not just pretending to be a grandson in front of him and beating a stuffy stick behind his back, and finally he forced the second master alive, I said why can't you have a long memory? ! ”

"The lord has taught me that he is ashamed of his duty, please forgive him his sin!"

"Forget it, I don't bother to say it, anyway, you will remember it later," Lin Feng waved his hand, and the words changed, "I called you here today, that is, to talk about this Liaoyang matter-let's be honest, according to our current strength, Liaoyang City is only a few thousand defenders at best, and there is no problem in defeating it, but according to the strategic intent of this battle, our army must rush to Shenyang City before the main force of the Eight Banners besieging Yaksa returns to reinforce, so we can't waste time here, and we can't have major losses-" Speaking of this, he looked left and right, "Ladies and gentlemen, do you have any good ideas?!" ”

“……”

"Okay, I knew I was going to be cold, it seems that our general is quite thin-skinned, hehe......" Lin Feng said with a grin, turning his head to Rick, "General Rick, except for me here, you have the highest rank, do you think you can remain silent?!" ”

"Your Majesty, as a professional soldier, I have to warn you - do not have unrealistic illusions about war, it is impossible to launch an attack on a well-fortified fortress like this without paying a certain price, Luo Mantik is a bard's business, not our soldiers," Ruikten stood up, strode to the map behind the military tent, pointed to the map of Liaoyang City, and looked solemn, "Your Majesty, Mr. officers, according to my observations, this castle is square, and in terms of terrain, The most suitable breakthrough for the attack is at its west gate, where there are several small hills outside the city, and the place near the city wall is quite flat, which is suitable for artillery units to concentrate fire to provide cover for attack, and suitable for the formation to be deployed, and the soldiers can also save physical strength by attacking from the top down - so I think that our army should concentrate those heavy front-loading cannons on the hills outside the west gate, and after the wall collapses, order the soldiers to carry out echelon attacks in battalion units, if there is no accident, I think that as long as Your Majesty is willing to pay about 3,000 casualties, our army will be able to seize the city defense of Liaoyang City! ”

"Three thousand?!" Lin Feng was startled and said dumbfoundedly, "Mr. Rick, are you joking?" He shook his head with a wry smile, "This capital is too big, the battle has just begun, and I can't afford to lose." ”

"Of course, I'm making a pessimistic estimate, in fact, it may only take one to two thousand casualties, our army can make a breakthrough," Rick is also a little embarrassed, in fact, in his experience, fighting is hard-hitting, and he rarely thinks about opportunistic things, "But how the enemy reacts, we still need to observe, as far as I know, the cities of 'our China' are very complicated, if the other side's generals shrink their forces and call on residents to start street battles, there may be more fierce battles!" ……”

"It's almost impossible to talk about street fighting," Mu Tianyan, who was silent on the side, suddenly spoke, took over Rick's topic, he got up and saluted Rick to show his humility, "Lord Rick doesn't know, the city in Liaodong has many log houses, and the city is narrow and compact, if the enemy army still resists stubbornly after the city is broken, our army can set fire to it on all sides - now that the autumn is high and dry, and there is a strong wind to help it, it only takes a few hours for our army to burn all the enemy troops!" ”

Rick was startled and stunned for a long time, then suddenly jumped up from the chair, his face full of anger, and he said like thunder, "Colonel Mu, what are you talking about?" - Are we going to kill so many civilians in order to win?! He waved his arms and said angrily, "I, the knight of His Majesty the King of Han, Major General Rick Rachel, firmly oppose this military operation against civilians, and in the name of God, gentlemen, we are professional soldiers, not filthy and evil executioners!! ”

Mu Tianyan was taken aback, turned his head and looked at the generals around him, Rick's fierce reaction really caught him off guard, Lord Rick is really a little inexplicable today, this kind of thing is well-documented in every history book, it is a matter of course from ancient times to the present, why is he wrong? However, because Rick's official rank is higher, he had to give up his hand and smile bitterly, "Rick's military sect has learned a lesson, and the last general is reckless!" ……”

Rick's face softened slightly, and he waved his hand, "Mr. Colonel, I must remind you: I have no right to interfere with what other generals do, but it is impossible for our Guards to carry out such a despicable task—unless I am removed by His Majesty, so you, as my Chief of Staff, should face this principle squarely." He looked serious and said solemnly, "Our Guards are the best army in the Great Han Kingdom, and every officer should be a loyal and upright knight, I hope that I and my subordinates can cherish this honor!" ”

Mu Tianyan was embarrassed, and in desperation, he had to turn his eyes to Lin Feng for help.

Looking at Rick with an angry expression, Lin Feng suddenly felt very ridiculous, he originally thought that this person had been a slave trader and smuggler, and he should be a sleek guy, but he didn't expect that he still had such a concept of Grace, it was really interesting, no wonder he dared to kill his aristocratic boss back then. Seeing Mu Tianyan's embarrassment at this moment, Lin Feng also had to make a round, "Of course, I also think that this way of fighting is not advisable, General Rick, Colonel Mu, as the chief of staff, is only considering this issue from his own responsibilities and from a purely military point of view, I think you have misunderstood him!" ”

The atmosphere was awkward, Lin Feng pinched his nose, faced Mu Tianyan, and changed the topic, "Chief of Staff, is it possible for that Yao Qisheng to surrender?" ”

Mu Tianyan shook his head and said, "If you want to surrender, the army should surrender before the siege of the city, this person has a well-known and strange temper, and it is rare for outsiders to measure his thoughts," he smiled bitterly, "However, as far as the humble position is speculated, according to his life experience, if the city is broken, he should not be martyred for the pseudo-Qing; But at this moment, Yao Qisheng will not do it if he is forced to buy it for glory. ”

Lin Feng didn't have any doubts about this speculation, in the end, Yao Qisheng and Mu Tianyan were the same kind, and their ideas should be not much different, comparing their hearts to their hearts, and their credibility was still very high.

After pondering for a long time, seeing that the officers in the tent did not come up with any good ideas, Lin Feng waved his hand, gave up the idea of opportunism, and ordered in a deep voice, "Ministers, the plan has been decided, and this time to capture Liaoyang, it will be implemented by General Yulin Zhonglang - the brigade lords will immediately dispatch men and horses to assemble at the West Gate," he turned his head and said, "Rick, I appoint you as the main general of the siege, go to the West Gate and prepare!" ”

After the other officers came out of the account, Lin Feng suddenly stopped Mu Tianyan, "Heming waits," he stood up from the handsome chair, walked up to Mu Tianyan, and said softly, "Heming, I remember that many people who were carrying heavy baggage this time were issued weapons, right?!" ”

Mu Tianyan was slightly stunned, because of the lack of troops, in order to ensure the safety of the baggage supply, in addition to sending a small number of regular troops to escort, the Han army also selected some young and strong people from the requisitioned to form a people's army, and temporarily distributed some cold weapons such as swords and spears eliminated by the Han army, the purpose is not to hope that these people will go into battle, but to guard against bandits or stragglers on the transportation road, seeing Lin Feng asking at this moment, Mu Tianyan's heart moved, and after recalling, he asked tentatively, "Lord...... Are you planning to send these people into battle?! ”

Lin Feng nodded, "Yes, at the moment, our army is tight, and we must not waste it in a non-critical place like Liaoyang, so this Wang Marshal has added some auxiliary troops!" ......" he glanced at Mu Tianyan, "You now organize these people according to the system of our Han army, send several officers to each battalion to lead the team to supervise the battle, and then pull the team to the West Gate and hand it over to General Rick to command!" ”

"Oh......" Mu Tianyan hesitated slightly, "If Rick Junmen asks......

"You just tell him that this is our big Han's militia unit" Lin Feng was a little funny, after this Mu Tianyan was deflated, he was obviously a little nervous now, he patted Mu Tianyan's shoulder and laughed, "Heming, General Rick is definitely not the kind of stereotypical person who doesn't know how to change, it's just that you don't know much about his philosophy!" ”

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Appendix at the end of the section:

Mu Tianyan, the word Heming, a native of Jingning, Gansu. Shunzhi 12 years of Jinshi, awarded Zhejiang Qiantang County. Moved to Nanning, Guangxi, and then moved to Xinghua Prefect, Fujian. In the ninth year of Kangxi, the lake was Guangshang Jingnan Road. Governor Liu Zhaoqi said that Tianyan Xi Bianhai affairs, please transfer Fujian Xingquan Road. Looking for the political envoy of Jiangsu. Twelve years later, he lost his mother. Governor Maleji and Governor Ma Hu said: "Tianyan is honest and diligent, clear the years of endowment, pick up and move, the matter is unfinished, please order the official system." In the thirteenth year, he entered the Hajj and said: "The money and grain in the fields in the south of the Yangtze River are hidden and deceitful. In addition, due to the fact that the department is not equal, the method of levying and intercepting the ticket is established, and each household is divided into ten limits on the actual amount of money and grain, and the limit is given on the day of the levy, and the cut-off ticket is completed according to the limit. If the limit is not cut, the number is followed, and the officials cannot deceive the people. "The lower part, the book is an order.

- "Qing Historical Manuscripts: Biography 65"

Author's note:

Mu Tianyan is not made up by Mr. Jin Yong, but in the history books, there is indeed a person, this person is an important minister of the Kangxi Dynasty, born as a jinshi, successively served as a magistrate, a Taoist, a political secretary, a governor, a governor of Caoyun, etc., and the false title was hung to the level of the premier attached to the State Council, and finally lost to the Eight Banners nobles Geertu and others in the political struggle, and was exempted from office; He was sleek and well-behaved, good at judging the situation, and in addition to having a high ability to manage the government, he also knew how to study hydraulic science and military logistics, and had outstanding performance in the war.

In addition, in the future, the author will no longer explain the origin of such characters, this time the reason for Mu Tianyan's special note, is only because this character has appeared in Mr. Jin Yong's "Deer and Ding Ji", and there is a lot of ink, in order to avoid the suspicion of "plagiarism", it is specially indicated.