Outside Taihu City, the sound of cicadas that screamed extremely fiercely because of the hot weather was completely covered by the noise of the battlefield of attack and killing.

And in a low hill far from the city walls, under the double shade of a small patch of trees and pergolas,

Zhang Dong, a former captain of the Long March, carefully chewed the freshly opened can of tempeh fish pieces, and even the fish bones and fish bones that were stewed to a crisp were carefully ground before swallowing the tea soup that was smooth to the throat;

Because of the hot weather, in addition to pickled shrimp paste, fish sauce and crab paste, this kind of canned aquatic products has also become much shortened. Inventory needs to be emptied in a timely manner before it can be replenished. And it was not far from her field of vision.

In the dull and sore clang, the stone cannon/trebuchet is both tall and large, and the longest-range and most powerful stone-throwing machine; Driven by herds of large animals and manpower, he shook violently and waved his swinging arms, smashing the heavy boulders on the top of the city; And on the rammed earth walls, battlements, shutters, and barriers, there are gaps and broken and flattened corpses left one after another.

If it happens to hit the wooden arrow tower and sentry tower that were built in a hurry, it will be a tragic scene of many broken limbs and building fragments, piercing through from the inside out or rambling through, competing to burst out.

The nearest and most numerous are the whirlwind cannons/throwing rods that are like pillars in the soil, and as the operator struggles to pull the ropes, a bag of pebbles as thick as a fist and a bowl is thrown up the city with a whirling leather bag.

And like a warp of scattered bullets, the heads were hidden behind the battlements, and the defenders with helmets or hats and purples screamed and broke their heads one after another.

The least numerous and most heavily protected are the city defense weapons captured from the official army - large wooden single crossbows and winch crossbows; They were placed on high bars made of mound work; Every time it was fired, the defenders were nailed to the battlements and dressed like skewers of meat amid the screams of the defenders.

Of course, the defenders of the city are not without the idea of destroying these long-range threats through counterattacks and sneak attacks. At this time, it was the turn of the escort force of their accompanying team, to use the Iron Arm Crossbow and the Arrow Box Crossbow Machine to play a role.

In particular, the night battles that the Taiping army was accustomed to with arrows and sins, with the cooperation of a small number of fire throwing teams, they were able to stabilize their positions and make the attackers pay a heavy price even in the case of the collapse and confusion of friendly forces.

In the distance, there was again a fierce and joyful cheer, but it was the gates that were slammed open; The motley rebels who were squatting under the city with their cards and boards were also impatient to step over the corpses of their comrades and enemies, and rushed into the city gates; In the smoke and flames that gradually rose and spread, it became the noise of fighting, crying, and roaring that gradually dispersed in the city.

However, all this has nothing to do with them for the time being. The main tasks of their coming to participate in the war are, first, to guard and guard against officers and troops who may come to help from the periphery; The second is to use the heavy equipment that the Taiping army has mastered and is good at to help these generally poorly equipped friendly forces to gradually destroy or open the city defenses steadily.

Obviously, they did quite well this time as well. Therefore, as the noise in the city intensified, the first special team that came to reward the wine and meat materials collected from the city also appeared in the city gate again.

According to the agreed agreement, most of the seizures after the destruction of the city went to the local rebels in charge of the siege; The Taiping Army, which was responsible for assisting in the war, had the right of first refusal to select the corresponding spoils of war and capture; For example, the local books and the government's picture books and cases, the hundreds of craftsmen among the people, the strong elements among the captives, and even half of the donkeys, mules, cattle and horses and other large animals were looted in the city.

As for the rest of the trophies, the Taiping army could also use the armor and armor built outside the Lingwai and Hunan, and the grain and cloth produced; Even clothing, shoes, socks, tent blankets, tools, alcohol, medicines, salted vegetable sauces, cane sugar and tobacco and other large-scale manufactured products in factories are used for mutual exchange and physical exchange.

Therefore, the few days after the city is broken, when everyone has a lot of money, is also the moment when they are most active in negotiating and reciprocating. This time, however, along with the reward procession, there was also a small group of fully clothed messengers:

"On the order of the Great General's Mansion, I will transfer your troops to Shanyang, Chuzhou, to assist in the offensive matters of General Shang."

The leading general announced with a solemn face.

"This... It's really hard to obey fate. ”

Zhang Dong couldn't help but be surprised, and then said with a look of embarrassment.

"Our unit has been ordered to help in the war with the outside, and it has long been said in advance; All the action instructions of the General's Mansion must be signed by the commander of the army before they can be accepted. ”

"How can this be reasonable, you dare to disobey orders."

The other party couldn't help but drop this sentence angrily, and then it was thunder and rain that turned around and left, leaving Zhang Dong confused.

。。。。。。。。。

In Chuzhou, a hundred miles away, it is also a scene where the city is about to be broken.

The "earthen tanks", which were advanced by the manpower of the iron plates, slowly but surely crossed the moats filled with firewood, grass and earth bags among the arrows and artillery stones that fell at the head of the city; Finally, he smashed through the last obstacle in front of the city gate and rushed into the doorway.

Immediately after a large burst of roars and smoke one after another, this city, which was once famous for Wei Yingwu's "Chuzhou West Stream", reluctantly opened its empty mind to the Taiping army in the wreckage of the torn city gate. In the midst of many trumpets, suona, flutes, and whistles, he accepted the fate of being conquered and ravaged.

And Zhou Huai'an, who was watching all this on the platform of the city watching the battle, was also calm in his heart, and there was no slightest wave. After all, these are all directly or indirectly defeated by the Taiping army, and I don't know how many cities they have.

More than two months have passed unconsciously, and the footprints of the Taiping Army have also accompanied the scope of most of the rebel army's activities, almost all over the entire Huainan land, and have accumulated and explored a lot of valuable experience in attacking cities and villages.

。

After all, most of the 14 prefectures in Huainan, 117 large and small (county) cities, and more than 300 towns and fortresses have fallen under the snowballing strategy of the righteous army; And the rest of the city is also those larger, more complete, relative to the high walls of the city.

(The boundary of Huainan Province is equivalent to the current central part of Jiangsu Province, the central part of Anhui Province, the northeast part of Hubei Province and the southeast corner of Henan Province)

Therefore, now the huge Huainan Road is left, and the east is centered on Yangzhou, which is occupied by Gao Biao, who is made by Huainan Jiedu; In the west, Anzhou, where Jiangxi recruited Cao Quanhui to stay, was the core, and the large number of powerful official and military clusters in the east and west occupied a small part of the territory.

Of course, there are the strategic trade-offs between the location and strategy of these two clusters; The rebel armies under the command of the Great General's Mansion were not able to form a relatively unified strategic opinion, but continued to fight their own ways and continue to desperately encompass the local area and expand their strength.

And even if the Taiping Army has corresponding tactical plans and plans, it will naturally not take the initiative to overstep its responsibilities or do additional things that will take advantage of others.

"Leader, where should you fight next?"

Zhu Cun, who was the deputy commander of the pressure formation, came to the stage full of fireworks.

"Say it from the heart. Those people in the General's Mansion are also not authentic, and the rich and prosperous Huaidong Plains don't let us mix too much; But let us guard against and attack those Huaixi, which has a lot of mountains and forests, and the people are also strong. What does this mean?"

"Actually, it doesn't matter, we just took this opportunity to re-sweep the places in the states along the Jiangbei coast;

Zhou Huai'an comforted him in turn.

"It is better to hold it in the hands of those who are close to us; It is not only to ensure the smooth flow of the waterway, but also to form a certain echo with the strongholds along the south coast. So next, let's go back to Luzhou again. ”

Immediately, Zhou Huai'an used an instruction stick to put it on a position on the sand table.

"Let's go to Hefei City next, and I'll meet this Yang Hanzi, who is known as a delicate mind, for a while."

"Well, you have a way to deal with this situation anyway; You can also seize opportunities and benefits from it. I will do it as you make it. ”

Zhu Cun nodded without hesitation.

"It's just that I have to ask the staff team to help me go through the details and make up for the missing things a little more."

"So good,"

Zhou Huai'an then nodded.

Although Zhu Cun is old and sophisticated, he has a lot of imprints and old habits of the old rebels. But what is most appreciated is the fact that you are self-aware, experienced and willing to learn and apply new things.

Therefore, he was able to slightly suppress Cao Shixiong, who was more enthusiastic and impulsive, or Zhang Juyan, who was cautious and steady, and ranked first among the three major Lang (general) deputies who also worked with impartial and just the right execution.

At this time, there is a waiting for Yu to report again.

"There is a team of officers and horses in Chuzhou City, and they have fled from the city of other gates... It looks like the banner of the Luzhou Army"

(End of chapter)