According to the intelligence transmitted back from the sharp post planted by Zhao Wu in Taiyuan City, the number of defenders in Taiyuan City was between 5,000 and 6,000 people.

Among them, there are about 3,050 troops under the command of Wang Zhong, the general soldier of Shanxi, and the rest are the guards of the Shanxi Metropolitan Division.

In addition, there are also guards of the Jin Palace, the Ninghua Palace, and other clansmen in the city, adding up to about 1,000 people.

And those of the country gentry are the homekeepers...... There are a large number of gentry in Taiyuan City, and the total number of Jiading nursing homes is never less than three thousand.

In other words, if the vassal kings and gentry in the city participated in the defense of the city, then the total number of troops defending the city would reach nearly 10,000.

If the vassal king and the gentry took out the money and grain and mobilized the people in the city to defend the city together, the total number of troops would increase by at least several thousand.

Moreover, there are more than 500 bird guns and more than 60 artillery pieces in the city, including two Hongyi cannons with a range of up to two miles, five big Fran machines with a range of about one mile, and the rest are small Fran machines, tiger squat cannons and large and small general cannons.

With so many defenders and firearms, Taiyuan City is a well-defended and impregnable city.

If you want to break through this fortified city, you must have more troops, more firearms, and be mentally prepared for huge casualties.

Qinchuan has an advantage in firearms, but it is obviously at a disadvantage in terms of troops.

Moreover, Qin Chuan didn't want to lose his troops in Taiyuan City.

After the Hetao Raiders were opened, his forces were stretched thin, and he could not lose his troops and horses in any unnecessary places.

This city has no natural danger to defend, and after it is defeated, it will inevitably suffer from Zhu Ming's crazy counterattack, and he does not have enough troops to garrison Taiyuan.

Therefore, Qin Chuan did not plan to storm Taiyuan City.

He only planned to bombard Taiyuan, make an unending appearance, force the other party to negotiate, and then take the benefits and leave.

On the day he arrived in Taiyuan City, Qin Chuan did not send people to shout, but set up a position at a distance of two and a half miles, pulled out six Tianwei general cannons, and aimed at the head of Taiyuan City.

……

At the north gate of Taiyuan City, Wu Fu, the governor of Shanxi, Wang Zhong, the chief soldier of Shanxi, Zhu Xianxuan, the prince of the Jin Dynasty, Zhu Minji, the king of Ninghua, as well as the political envoys of the Shanxi political secretary, the envoys of the punishment according to the probation, the commanders, and many gentry in the city, all gathered at the head of the city, looking at the Guan Emperor army outside the city.

"Why don't you see an envoy coming?" Zhu Xianxuan's eyes widened and he asked suspiciously.

Wu Fu frowned and shook his head: "Maybe he didn't want to negotiate at all, he just wanted to attack the city." ”

"This ......"

Zhu Xianxuan's face changed.

Zhu Minji and many officials and gentry next to him also changed color.

If the Qin thieves were bent on attacking the city, there would be no room for mediation.

In case Taiyuan City can't hold it......

"Lord Futai, His Royal Highness the Prince of the World, don't worry, the Qin thief's army is only about 5,000, and the number of defenders in the city who can be mobilized is enough to tens of thousands, and the people can be mobilized to defend the city at a critical moment, and the Qin thieves can't attack it."

"The last general has transferred most of the artillery and bird guns to the north gate, and there are those two Hongyi cannons, if the Qin thief dares to approach, he will definitely not return."

When everyone was worried, Wang Zhong slapped his chest and said with an oath.

"Humph!"

Who knew that Zhu Minji actually snorted angrily: "If it weren't for the fact that you coveted those glass utensils and money and killed the Qin thief, how could he come to attack Taiyuan City?" ”

Being scolded by King Ninghua like this in front of everyone's eyes, Wang Zhong's face turned red and white, and it was very ugly, but he didn't dare to fight back, so he had to twist his head to the other side and pretend not to hear.

At this time, a cloud of gunpowder smoke suddenly rose from the Guandi army outside the city, and at the same time there was a loud sound of "boom", and then the city wall under everyone's feet shook violently, and a cannonball roared and smashed heavily on the city wall.

In this shock, Zhu Xianxuan and other timid people were directly shocked to the ground, and some even urinated out, and Wang Zhong and other bold people were also shocked and ran into a mess.

Before the gang could get up, five more cannons rang out outside the city, and shells whistled one after another, some hitting the walls, some directly on the city.

On the top of the city

Immediately, a scream rang out, and several unlucky soldiers and gentry were hit by cannonballs, and immediately there was a blur of flesh and blood.

"The Qin thief has fired! The Qin thief has fired! ”

"Quick-fire artillery returns, quick, fast-fire artillery ......"

"The thief army is two miles away, and the Hongyi cannon can't reach it."

In the chaos, some people shouted and shouted, and some answered loudly.

Not long after, Zhu Xianxuan, Zhu Minji, and a group of officials, gentry, etc., climbed down the city wall with a rolling belt, and after shouting "hold" indiscriminately, they fled back to their respective mansions without their lives.

There were only a few officials left by the city wall, such as Wu Fu, Wang Zhong, and Du Yingtang, the commander of Shanxi.

Before these people could breathe, the sound of artillery fire outside the city began to sound again.

And this round of artillery was even more accurate than the previous one, and three of the six shells fell on the city, smashing bricks and stones, and the surrounding Ming troops were also wounded and killed.

"Lord Futai, Qin Chuan's artillery is farther than the Hongyi cannon, and we can't fight back at all, what should we do?" Du Yingtang asked with a pale face.

Wu Fu's face was ugly, and he frowned tightly and said nothing.

Wang Zhong, who was on the side, took over and said: "Lord Futai, the Qin thieves are just a few cannons, which are not enough to collapse the city wall, it is better to withdraw most of the soldiers on the city head first, reserve the troops, and the Qin thieves will not be able to enter the city." ”

"Shouyang City, Jiaocheng and even Yanmen Pass have friendly troops stationed, we only need to hold it for two or three days, and when the reinforcements arrive, we can defeat the Qin thieves in one fell swoop."

Hearing this, Du Yingtang opened his mouth, but after seeing Wu Fu's face, he closed his mouth.

Wu Fu thought for a moment, and then nodded: "Okay, according to what General Wang said, first withdraw the soldiers, and leave only a small number of men and horses to look out on both sides of the city." ”

"Yes."

Wang Zhong hurriedly took the order and left.

Du Yingtang on the side sighed secretly.

No one here knows Qin Chuan better than him.

It's good that reinforcements don't come, but if they come to the rescue, they will only come and lose one.

The only way to resolve the dilemma is to negotiate peace.

Qin Chuan is attacking the Hetao, if he is not in a hurry, he definitely does not want to fight with the imperial court, as long as he returns his glass utensils and silver taels to him, and then let the gentry in the city pay some money and food as compensation, he will definitely retreat.

If he is in a hurry and wants to fight to the death with Taiyuan City...... No amount of troops can hold it.

He's not just six cannons.

……

Qin Chuan is indeed not only six cannons.

After seeing through his telescope the retreat of the defenders at the head of the city, he asked the artillerymen to push the twenty red-clad general's cannons on, straight to within two miles.

Then, these twenty red-coated general cannons also joined the bombardment line.

A total of 26 cannons, against the north gate of Taiyuan City, continued to bombard, a steady stream of shells smashed the bricks and stones of the city head splashed, and the bricks of the outer wall were peeled off one after another.

The artillery on the head of the city had long since run out, and the two Hongyi cannons became pure targets, and it didn't take long for them to collapse the gun mount and turn them into two scrap iron pipes.

At this time, Qin Chuan let twenty big Buddha long machine guns advance to a range of one mile and continue to join the bombardment.

The bombardment of more than 40 cannons made the defenders in the city tremble, and also made Wu Fu, Wang Zhong and others panic.

At the same time as the bombardment, Qin Chuan's army began to build camps outside the city, digging trenches on the periphery, building horses, and laying iron thistles, etc., to build a large camp that could accommodate 6,000 people.

The shelling continued until dark, and the rest of the time the forty-six cannons were firing except for the time when the barrels were cooled.

The north gate of Taiyuan City has been bombarded to the devastation, the city head has almost no foothold, the bricks of the outer wall are peeling off seriously, and the city tower has been bombed to collapse most of it.

The courage of the defenders in the city has long been blown away.

After dark, the shelling finally stopped.

When the troops were collected and returned to the camp, Liu Youzhu took 2,000 horsemen, wrapped the horses in horseshoes, and quietly left the camp under the cover of night and the chaos of collecting the troops, and went in the direction of Shouyang City in the east.