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Several large trees with their crowns cut off, and the bodies of some of the trunks of which had been removed with knives and saws were free, and green smoke was rising in the cold winter wind. In the past, the leafy canopy was dragged to the moat and used as a deer.

The houses outside the walls of Taoyuan Village have become ruins, and the wells have either been filled with masonry or thrown into dead cats and dogs. All the houses, beams and columns were dismantled and transported into the stockade, leaving only the crumbling walls.

These beams and pillars and stepping stones were transported to the stockade and served as rolling wood and stones.

With the appearance of the forward rangers of the South Central Army on the distant horizon, the atmosphere on the wall of Taoyuan Zhai was tense to the extreme.

The broad, sturdy walls were filled with men from the clan, from fourteen or fifteen-year-old half-grown children to old men with white beards. In the midst of them, hot oil was boiling in a cauldron, and nearly a thousand houses outside the village were demolished to collect raw materials made of rolling wood, sheep's head stones, righteous nights made of house beams, poles, battering rods, and wolf's tooth cards, which were piled up on the head of the city, on the horse road, and under the feet of the people.

On the horse paths of the city walls, people nervously carried gunpowder and cannonballs to several corner towers and forts. Plenty of food for the six-pounder, eight-pounder, and big and small francs there.

The entire Taoyuan Village has become a large barracks and a fortress that is firmly defended by the city.

There were more than 20,000 people from the three nearby families, and in the mouths of the patriarchs, they were all traitors in the eyes of the officers and soldiers, and the officials and soldiers were bound to slaughter them all. "The stone will go through the knife, and the thatch will go over the fire." "The field should be changed to a surname." People have to change their species! ”

Therefore, when faced with the threat of death, people have to summon up the courage to resist with the courage of their ancestors against the wilderness, wild beasts, and poisonous snakes.

Not only men had to go into battle, but some young and middle-aged women also had to take on the task of standing on the wall, and the old and weak women and children were responsible for carrying, cooking, and healing. Food and materials are also managed in a unified manner, and people's rations are distributed on a daily basis. Even several patriarchs also took the lead in eating in the big stove.

"If the skin does not have hair, will it be attached?" The patriarchs' words made them more motivated.

The leaders of the guild will distribute their subordinates to each of the key points, and how many people are needed for each stack. A few more firearms and a few more swords and gunners are needed. Assign them one by one. The sergeants who had withdrawn from Shekeng and other places were gathered under the city and served as the mainstay.

At this time, the city wall was also covered with relevant defensive equipment. Every few battlements. Each team member is responsible for which buttresses and what equipment. It's all about dividing paragraphs. Clarify responsibilities one by one.

at each docking. There is a kind of castle guard equipment called a hanging house or soft wall, which is made of wood and stands on two feet in the city. The reels stand outside the city. There is a lattice, covered with old futon that has been wet with water, to prevent sharp arrows from coming in from outside the city. Without this kind of equipment, the sharp arrows under the city will shoot, and the soldiers in the city will not be able to save the station.

On the side facing the outside of the city, several holes were hollowed out to peek at the movement outside.

There are also dozens of grass factories built on the city wall, with bamboo as the backbone, covered with thatched cover, used for the city head of the guards as a temporary resting place. There is a tall bamboo pole outside the grass factory, which is used to hang the team flag and lanterns. There are also thick bamboo tubes in the grass factory. It is used to attach each man's weapon.

Under the root of the city wall, the moat is filled with river water, under the river, there are countless sharp bamboo stakes hidden, on the outside of the moat, there are also arranged to reject horses, deer, thistles and other things, so that the siege team that broke through the moat can not have a foothold on the edge of the ditch, and set up a cloud ladder to attack the city wall.

"This group of bitches raised! They have been coerced by the whole tribe to give them backs! ”

Standing in a position where the artillery at the head of the city could not hit, Ou Dapeng and Wu Liuqi observed this stockade from the camera, which was claimed to have never been breached by anyone for hundreds of years.

Behind them, from the southeast, the black-pressed troops swept through the sky like a tide. The sound of the men in the ranks, the clamor of the carriages and horses, and the heavy sound of the wheels of the gun wagons running over the ground mixed into a huge wave of sound that hit the people on the city.

"Set up camp first! Siege again tomorrow! ”

After a brief discussion between the two of them, they passed down the military order.

So, the scene that Zhang Tingyu saw the day before yesterday was staged again in front of all the people, landlords, patriarchs, and heads of Taoyuan Village.

With an order, the Nanzhong Army around Taoyuan Village began to survey the terrain and began to dig trenches on the spot to erect fences. Slowly, a camp that continuously surrounded Taoyuan Village on three sides appeared in the eyes of the people on the wall, looking from the city head to the southeast and west, it was the Nanzhong military camp that could not see the edge at a glance, and the banners of different sizes and colors divided the camp into small pieces.

Amid the noisy and noisy shouting and neighing of horses, the prisoners of the brigade were escorted or imprisoned by the Nanzhong Army, looking for water sources around the camp that could ensure drinking water for people and animals, so as to ensure the living water of more than 10,000 people.

Amid the shouting and scolding, dozens of wells were filled and polluted. I had to arrange for people to slowly remove the masonry and stones that filled the well, and clean the sewage in the well. After finishing this qiē, it was already nightfall, and the lights in the Nanzhong Army camp were gradually lit, like stars in the night sky. Finally, it converges into a bright sea of lights.

In order to prevent the Nanzhong army from attacking the city at night, Taoyuan Village is also brightly lit, and two huge lights illuminate most of the night sky, even if it is dozens of miles away, it can be seen clearly.

The season is approaching the wax moon, which is the coldest time in northern Guangdong, and a few snowflakes fall in the sky from time to time. In order to prevent frostbite and frostbite among the soldiers, in the outer defense line of the battalion, the Southern Central Army also reduced the number of sentries and platoon posts sent abroad, and instead replaced them with rows of wooden poles planted on the ground between the earthen walls and the trenches, hanging layers of lanterns, and the sides of the trenches were as bright as day, even if a needle fell to the ground, it could be found. In some important areas, long spears were used to set up anti-horse gun arrays.

In the camp, after passing through three earthen walls and two trenches, you will enter the camping area of the men and horses. The soldiers of the brigade laughed and laughed in their respective tents, enjoying a steaming meal and soup.

In the middle of the camp, at the core intersection of several roads, under the banner of several faces, is the command tent of the Sixth Garrison Brigade. The officers of the two brigades were enjoying their dinner here.

Several tables were skillfully put together by the soldiers to form a long large table, and the officers of the two brigades were mixed together, and on the table were several huge copper pots, under which the charcoal was burning, and the red soup in the pot was boiling and boiling, and the smell of chili peppers and spices emanated into the air. Around the copper pot. There are more than a dozen dishes listed. The plate is mostly fish and meat, occasionally some vegetables, thinly sliced fish and meat slices, and is blanched in a boiling spicy soup. Eat it hot in your mouth. That kind of hotness and spiciness. Eating this group of soldiers made their noses run and they were addicted.

"Brother District, do you want the brothers to go around tomorrow to catch some people? In front of this camp, dig another long trench around Taoyuan Village, ready to besiege for a long time? ”

Ou Dapeng snorted again and again, and after swallowing a piece of meat, he didn't think so. "Do you need to dig a long trench to build a dirt fence? Let's let the brothers rest well, be optimistic about the terrain, start the siege in two days, and take this stockade in five days! ”

"In five days?"

Not only was Wu Liuqi surprised, but many of his officers also laughed in their hearts, "Talk big!" The class is talking big again! That's what the officers thought.

However, the officers of the Sixth Garrison Brigade, especially the battalion officer Huang Damu of the artillery battalion, had a smug look on their faces and looked very determined. Thinking about this journey to the west, what he saw and heard, imperceptibly, Wu Liuqi felt that if the more than 3,000 people in his hands were brought back to the Sanhe Dam in Tai Po, there would definitely be a gap compared with the people there.

"Boss Wu, don't think how strong this stockade is, it hasn't been broken for hundreds of years, it's because our Nanzhong Army hasn't come! No matter how strong his stockade is, how is it compared to Hue City? How is Thang Long City, which was strongly fortified by the Zheng family? Such a city can't resist our artillery attack, and a local tyrant and shoddy gentry who use it to exploit the people in the township dare to erect a big banner in front of us? ”

The group laughed confidently.

The fourth day of the tenth month of Chongzhen.

The sun had just risen in the sky, and the Nanzhong army had already had breakfast, and one by one they walked out of the barracks and assembled in a line within the two earthen walls, ready to start today's siege.

Not far away, dozens of artillery forts have been built, and heavy soldiers, civilians, and coolies (captured regimental warriors) are working hard to carry gunpowder and shells. A huge amount of ammunition is piled up behind the gun emplacement.

The officers were all dressed in uniform, and one by one they led their horses out.

According to the agreement of the day before yesterday, the Sixth Garrison Brigade of Ou Dapeng was the main force of the siege, responsible for attacking the east, and Wang Jin, Wu Biao and others each led 1,000 men to attack the west and south. Wu Liuqi led the guards as the general reserve. Two battalions of men and horses were left in the barracks to serve as guards.

"Brother, it's up to you!"

Wu Biao has been familiar with Huang Damu and the others in the past few days, and the big horn patted him on the shoulder, "You have broken the hole here, and I will start to attack in the south, dragging this group of dog thieves so that they dare not go east to reinforce them." ”

"Don't worry! We gunners are all good! It's all from south to north! ”

Huang Damu puffed up his chest proudly and pointed to the dozens of artillery pieces not far away. From the eight-pounder gun, to the Big Buddha Franc to the twelve-pounder gun, there are also dozens of "field chicken" guns with more manpower than other artillery positions.

"These guys come once, if this wall is not stripped of a layer of skin, return to Guangzhou, the most beautiful girl on the Pearl River flower boat, brother, I please!"

"Good! If you attack the fortifications, brother, I will also invite you! Two of the most beautiful girls on the Pearl River! ”

The bamboo and wood were used to build a cannon fortress made of thick sandbags piled on top of the shelf, and the cannon ports of black holes stretched out, and the cannon ports pointed to the city wall of Taoyuan Village. The fort is only a mile away from the wall, and although it is within the range of the city's artillery fire, it poses a huge threat to the wall of Taoyuan Village.

The two forts were also made of bamboo and sandbags, but they were not capped, but a thick wall was enclosed, revealing two rows of huge cannon muzzles, which pointed to the Taoyuan wall.

Ou Dapeng commanded the siege troops, forming a battalion array, spreading an extremely wide front on both sides and behind the artillery position.

In winter, the clouds are thick, as if the sky is pressed very low, and the murderous atmosphere between heaven and earth is so overwhelming that people can't breathe. I can't wait to rush to the front of the battle immediately and shout loudly to be happy.

Looking at the slowly rising red sun in the eastern sky, Ou Dapeng and Wu Liuqi exchanged glances with each other, and then reflexively looked at the soldiers who had finished lining up on the left and right, sitting on the ground with knives and guns in their hands and waiting for orders, Ou Dapeng nodded with satisfaction.

"Let's get started!"

The commander waved the signal flag in his hand and conveyed the order to open the cannon to the artillery position.

"Fire!"

Huang Damu, who had long been unable to hold back, waved the order flag in his hand, and the gunners swung the fire rope to the letter tube made of goose feather feathers.

The twelve-pounder guns took close direct aim and fire, and the target of the muzzle was the middle of the wall of Taoyuan Village.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Knock knock!"

The dense cannonballs hit the city wall, which made the hearts of the three clansmen who were defending on the wall of the wall pound! Artillery fire is so powerful!!

Followed by. "Tom!" Another round of artillery fire.

"Boom!" Another batch of shells crashed into the city walls.

There is some deviation from the measured results. The terrain of Taoyuan Village is on the high side, although the target is the middle of the wall, but the people who built the city here back then. It is very clever to make use of the topography and people's visual bias here. Caused to aim at the middle of the city wall. But it hit a huge deviation in the foundation of the city walls.

(Take advantage of visual errors.) In the practice of building fortifications, there are many successful cases. The more famous one is the fort built by Russia at the mouth of Arthur, which cleverly used the terrain and terrain to deceive the Japanese artillery with modern aiming instruments. ）

The walled wall of Taoyuan Village. The foundation is made of bluestone strips, with a layer of city bricks, which is made of Sanhe soil mixed with glutinous rice milk and egg white, which has formed a concrete-like effect under the action of time and gravity for hundreds of years, and in the past few years, it has been reinforced with burnt ash on the wall, which is more and more solid. The bombardment of two rounds of shells only caused huge cracks to appear in the wall of Taoyuan Wall.

Under the wall, the defensive equipment such as deer and horse rejection on the side of the ditch were smashed by cannonballs and flew in all directions, falling into the ditch with the fragments that burst out of the wall, floating around on the water.

Just as the artillery began to fire a second round of shells, the artillery fire on the city also began to counterattack.

As the gunpowder burned and exploded, the large and small guns on the forts, corner towers, and horses at the head of the city adjusted their muzzles and began to pour iron balls into the forts. The hot iron balls of several pounds continued to smash on the front and back of each gun position, and the shelves made of bamboo and wood made a creaking sound, and they were under tremendous pressure in pain. The two shells tumbled and jumped on the frozen ground, hitting the two coolies who were carrying a huge cannonball, taking away their two calves, and the shells were castrated, leaving a bloody trail on the position.

"One, two, three, four、...... XI, XII. All right! It's time for our big guy to sing a good show! ”

After counting the exposed artillery, Huang Damu sneered twice and waved his hand to signal the mortar to fire!

The forty mortars, affectionately known as the "field chicken cannons," immediately began to spray fury and shells at the wall.

Although these mortars can fire huge shells of 24 pounds and 48 pounds, the barrel of the cannon is not very heavy, and its power, long range, and maneuverability are exactly the sharp weapons for attacking fortified positions in the mountainous and hilly areas. It's just that the requirements for the gunner are relatively high, and in the process of aiming and shooting, it is necessary to master complex mathematical problems such as trigonometric functions, and in terms of practical operation, it is much more difficult than those twelve-pounder guns

Unlike the 12-pounder and eight-pounder guns, which were aimed at the defenders of the towers and the head of the city, the trajectory of the mortar was curved, and the target was the defender artillery at the castle tower and the head of the city.

The mortars in the two fortifications split into two waves and rained shells towards the city. The shell of a 24-pounder mortar leaped away, and after flying to the apex, it reflexively folded downward, and went straight to the defenders on the wall. There was also the unlucky guy who didn't cultivate in his previous life, his body was smashed into two pieces by the cannonball, and the upper body flew out to the side under the huge impact of the cannonball, and knocked over a hot oil pot straight up, and the soldiers around the oil pot screamed, and the body was already in flames, and the fire suddenly spread in the city!

Then, more than a dozen heavy and huge mortar shells roared in, either smashing on the ground at the foot of the wall, or flying over the wall, and falling in the queue of regiments assembled under the wall, smashing the team into a piece of flesh and blood. More shells fell on the wall, on the corner tower, and on the fort.

Bombarded by these large iron balls, the smashed bricks and stones flew everywhere, instantly beating the corner tower of the fort that was still firing artillery at the bottom of the city.

"Adjust the muzzle angle! The big mortar cannon hits the wall! Small mortar cannons for Lao Tzu to kill those cannons! ”

Huang Damu used a telescope to observe the head of the city, carefully observing the effect of the mortar cannon. An order was then issued to adjust the angle of fire and the Secret Element.

Immediately, with the efforts of the coolies, the huge cannonballs were reloaded again and again, and the fierce artillery fire continued to pour down on the city.

With the concerted efforts of artillery shells, gunpowder, and masonry, there were hardly any people who could stand up on the wall, on the fort hill, and on the corner towers, which were included in the key targets. From time to time, artillery parts and masonry were smashed and flew up to the city, becoming accomplices of the Nanzhong Army and continuing to kill.

After two rounds of mortar artillery fire, the firepower points that had been counted by Huang Damu fell into silence for the time being.

"Alright, it's time for us to go!"

Wu Biao, who was in charge of the siege task in the Xizhai Wall, waved the sword in his hand and shouted a fierce battle. (To be continued......)