Under the three-story gatehouse on half of the collapsed side, Zhou Bao, whose hair was covered with ashes and dust on his carefully cared for and maintained, was also looking at all this with a blue face; There are complex feelings of chagrin and remorse lingering in my heart.

Obviously, he is still too big and underestimating the enemy. These grass thieves should have been able to reach as far as the city, but they have not been able to trigger and do their best before, so people can't help but slack off and neglect it; As a result, there was such a calamity.

Now it's time to pay for it. Although the firearms of those grass thieves suddenly bombarded the city, his personal guards supported him at the first time, and rushed out of the door to cover him and ran into the Tibetan cave to hide; But the dozens of civil and military officials who came to him in a hurry to stay in the gatehouse to watch the battle and boost their morale did not have this kind of luck.

Later, Zhou Bao learned that in the chaos after the gatehouse was hit by a flint; Some of them were stoned to death and wounded by several flints in the gatehouse, some were burned and scalded by the follow-up fire, and some trampled each other to death in panic; In the end, several more people were pushed and knocked unconscious because of their frailty, and they were buried alive under the burned gatehouse.

In the end, those who were able to run out without major problems were a dozen generals who reacted quickly because of their strong bodies; Even Zhou Yu, the eldest son of the Yanai soldiers and horses, was also smashed and injured his legs and feet and became unable to move.

Others, including Zhou Bao's pet letter and the reused festival Ya Sima Zhulong, the fifth letter of Changshi, and the secretary Li Guan, many people were inevitably killed or injured and could not look at things. It is almost equivalent to that many of the yamen officials who are responsible for assisting him in governing the Zhenhai region and the daily operation of the city have been paralyzed by more than half.

The bad news doesn't stop there. The officers and soldiers of the various departments who were waiting in the city near the city were even more panicked because of the successive fires and random blows in the city, and in the random arrows fired under unknown circumstances, the confusion turned into a fratricidal melee. After dawn, the tooth soldiers who were dispatched to wait in the door were calmed down, and the corresponding casualties had reached more than 2,000 people;

In addition, when the city wall was bombarded by thieves and firearms, because the number was too dense to dodge, the number of marching soldiers and Xuanrun crossbowmen who were killed and wounded on the city head reached as many as 800. And Zhou Rang, the Marquis of Zuo Yu, who commanded and pressed in the middle, was also pushed and knocked down in the chaos and fell into the city, only afraid that there would be less luck.

And the specific results of the clean-up in the city are nothing more than dozens of burned, blackened livestock; If it weren't for the city putting down the gate gate in time to cut off the follow-up thieves, I am afraid that it will be even more difficult to clean up after they rush in.

As for the thieves outside the city, there were even fewer overnight killings, and even the corresponding corpses were taken away overnight; Leaving only a handful of blood and many arrow-filled baffles and large cards, they were abandoned on the empty ground and mocked the defenders.

All this proves another truth and fact, the bandit army outside the city suddenly discovered something at the end of the matter, and will take countermeasures and countermeasures.

"How can this be reasonable, how did this leak the news? It's that place again, there's a mistake and an omission."

Thinking of this, Zhou Bao gathered around him, and the generals who were also disgraced scolded loudly.

"It must be investigated by Logan, starting with those who rebel against daily contacts, and there is no need to miss a single one."

Zhou Yu, who was lame and full of fear, also echoed in a loud voice.

"Is there a remnant of iniquity who secretly communicates with thieves in the city with resentment? All the children of unity who were on duty at the head of the city that day were suspicious. ”

"No."

"Ordered."

Several tooth soldiers and battalion generals came out one after another to receive the command. Then the noise gradually rose, turning into jagged cries and cries of punishment.

And after being ordered to be busy all night on the other wall, Li Shicheng, the official of Confucius, walked down the city wall with some staggering; The old servant who was born in the family hurriedly came to help; And by the way, tell him a message.

"The Sun family of Yujinfang sent someone to report the funeral."

"What..."

Li Shicheng couldn't help but feel a thrill all over his body, and he cheered up in horror.

"When is this going to be,"

"Just the night before yesterday, it was said that he was drunk and drowned. The family searched for a whole day before they found out in the white pond on the edge of the square. ”

The old family didn't know what to do.

"What a disaster."

Li Shicheng couldn't help muttering to himself, but in his heart he recalled the life of this colleague and concurrent. Although there are a lot of big and small problems, there is no habit of greedy drinking and drinking. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a cold sweat on his back, and it turned into some kind of inexplicable sadness and indignation; It's come to this point, and the other party still refuses to let go of anything easily.

However, just as he was wandering back to his mansion with his stomach full of thoughts, he saw a blue-robed martial arts crown with a raw face, sitting under the hall with some impatience on his face.

"Li Kongmu, your good deeds and opportunities have come."

After seeing Li Shicheng, this Yu Hou said with a smile on his face.

。。。。。。

After daybreak, the besieged camp, which had resumed its busy life, sounded again with neat trumpets and military songs.

"Okay, actually, I'll look at the method of qi,"

Zhou Huai'an said to the advisor monk with a face full of surprise and curiosity.

"Hopeful. The art of ..? ”

The corners of his eyes twitched, and he couldn't help but show his demeanor that I don't want to lie to me.

"You can only guess and conclude some things by looking at the subtle changes in the clouds and dust in the distance."

Zhou Huai'an took it for granted, true and false.

"Isn't this the military skills that have been lost by Guiguzi, Sun Bin and other sages in ancient legends?"

However, Qian Gumei, a special representative with a stocky appearance on the side, was a little unbelievable and exclaimed.

"What do you think?"

Zhou Huai'an smiled confidently and reservedly.

To put it bluntly, it's not so strange and surprising, it's just that there are more people gathered behind the city wall, and they can't help but exhale for a long time into smoke. There is no night wind to blow away, but when encountering a falling cold snap, it is easy to form a corresponding piece of hidden smoke and haze. ”

With that, he gestured again to the location of his camp and the smoke and dust that had been disturbed by the various activities that hung over him.

"As long as you observe carefully, you will naturally find the nuances and clues, which are nothing more than whether the observation is detailed enough, and the length of the process of accumulating experience."

"So-and-so, but I'm very taught."

Qian Gumei couldn't help but bow her hand, but she sighed in her heart that this person is really a good teacher, and this kind of military strategy also dares to show her own family calmly. I don't know if it's just nature, or if it's just a matter of being calculated and unscrupulous.

Next, Zhou Huai'an didn't have time to pay attention to the change in his mood, because Luo Wen, the captain of the engineering regiment who was in charge of the pre-battle operation, had already come over to report the latest progress and discoveries.

"You're saying that the three main tunnels are almost close to the walls?"

Zhou Huaian couldn't help but ask.

"Exactly, and there has been a dig in the hard rammed earth that seems to be the foundation of the wall. This is the result of the sample coming back. ”

As a miner in Guiyang, Luo Wen was born with a bronzed square face, covered with years of scars and thick calluses on his hands and feet. He was still holding an object in his hand.

"So good,"

Zhou Huai'an pinched the hard lump in his hand hard, although it was visible to the naked eye, it was actually very hard; The debris that falls is not in the form of powder, but in the form of flaky flakes. Obviously, it was rammed in a deep ditch as a foundation composite soil when it was originally used as a wall foundation. He couldn't help but say immediately

"From today onwards, each person in the group will add a quota of one pound of wheat noodles or rice per day, and add one or two pounds or fat. Now we have to bother you to continue to strengthen it, waiting for the time and the order. ”

"Thanks to the kindness of the leader, we have come out of the pit, and we have a good life where we can work hard and be satisfied. But how dare you not poke your strength as your duty... ”

Rowan immediately thanked Dade for his thanks and refused.

"Don't say that I'm asking for any extra reward, and the brothers are going to poke me in the back."

"You can't do that. Rules are rules, and rewards and punishments are taken for granted. Even if you have the intention to repay, you can't violate the basic rules, otherwise how can you serve the public. ”

Zhou Huai'an also interrupted.

"If you feel that you really don't want to go, then try to improve efficiency and produce more results from your daily actions, as a feedback to my Taiping Army."

"It's still the leader who thinks about it thoroughly. I will tell my brothers. ”

Luo Wen also hurriedly took the order with undiminished feelings, and Zhou Huai'an couldn't help but show a knowing smile.

In order to cover the movements of these tunnels, the Taiping army has taken great pains these days. Not only did they make noise and harass it day and night, but they also carried out a lot of real and false ground operations, such as the earthen platforms used to suppress the city head and obstruct the view, and the trenches and breastoping walls that confuse the movement of people.

This is the essence of the ancient cave siege method, digging under the base of the wall and then slowly and gradually hollowing out, supporting it with wooden pillars, only to wait for the right time to demolish or burn it, so as to achieve the effect of destroying the foundation of the city wall and causing cracking.

Although in theory it is quite simple, as long as enough manpower is piled up. But in this day and age it was a highly technical thing to keep most of the peasant rebels out of the threshold.

First of all, it is necessary to have relatively accurate surveying and mapping and exploration methods to ensure the accuracy of the basic orientation, and secondly, it is necessary to have a sufficient number of experienced manpower and engineering calculation margin to avoid various conditions and accidents that may occur during the excavation process.

Finally, there is the feasibility factor of the geographical environment near the city, and the area where the groundwater is too abundant or the soil is too soft should not be expected. Even if it is forced to start, it is nothing more than looking for death in water seepage and collapse.

For the besieging Taiping army, there was no shortage of surveyors and surveyors trained by the seminar; The mines and pits that straddle between Lianzhou and Chenzhou also provide many experienced miners. Therefore, the only remaining problem is the seepage situation caused by the proximity of Dantu City to the river.

However, after multiple attempts to excavate in three directions, several tunnels collapsed and leaked; The engineering troops of the Taiping army finally discovered that the core of the city was actually built on a hard platform surrounded by dikes and walls. As long as you are willing to try for a little more time, there is still a chance to find a relatively stable passage and route through the silted moats.

Moreover, unlike the traditional siege methods of cave ground, the Taiping army did not need to dig tunnels into the city, or hollow out a lot of work under the wall foundation; This is also often easy to be detected by the city and countered accordingly.

For example, the direction and distance are determined by the cylinder method of digging underground pits, and then the reverse tunnel or other destructive operations are used to destroy it. The Taiping Army only needs to dig up the corresponding approximate location, and the rest will be solved and supplemented by the corresponding cross-era technical means.

Of course

Although the Taiping army adopted the tactics of besieging but not attacking under the city of Dantu, and the combination of virtual and real, the corresponding preparations for the siege were in the process of advancing in an out-and-out, real and orderly manner; Whether it is the various materials and equipment transferred through Jiangning, or the materials collected and purchased from the local government, they are all ensuring a purpose.

Once the troops and horses distributed on the periphery to send reinforcements are gathered, they can quickly turn into a higher intensity siege posture. As the tunnel nears completion, the main dishes are ready, waiting for the last guest to come to the table.