There is hanging mountain in the west of Taiyuan Fu, there is Mengshan in the northwest, there is Fenshui in the east, there is cave whirlpool water in the southeast, in the Ming Dynasty, there are 25 counties under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty.

Taiyuan Fucheng is one of the 33 largest commercial cities in the Ming Dynasty. It is not only Taiyuan Mansion, but also the center of gravity of the entire Shanxi, known as Chongyong Pheasant, and the magnificent name of the world.

The whole city, located on the east bank of Fenshui, is composed of five cities: Fucheng, Jinwang City, Nanguan City, Beiguan City and Xinbao.

There are eight gates to be opened, the city circumference is more than 28 miles, the wall is six zhang high, and the whole city is covered with bricks. Along the wall of the city, there are four corner towers, ninety-two small buildings, thirty-two enemy platforms, plus the outer moat that is three zhang deep, it can be said that it is stronger than the iron urn.

However, at this time, the defenders of the city looked out with a chill.

Outside the city were the 4th Brigade of the Tiance Army and the 9th Brigade of the Public Security Army, which came all the way to capture the pass, and the 8th Brigade of the Public Security Army, which came from Yuci to converge, with a total of 9,000 men.

Tiance Army Wang Hongwu broke the Pingxing Pass, Zhou Yanbu broke the Niangzi Pass, all the way into the hinterland of Shanxi as if into a no-man's land, Daizhou, Fanzhi, Xinzhou, Pingdingzhou, Mengzhou and other places interceptors and horses have been defeated, everyone is panicked, and the relevant interest groups behind them are also terrified.

The Tiance army moved quickly, approaching closer and closer, Taiyuan Mansion City was shocked every day, and since the day before yesterday, the city gate was closed early, and the city was not allowed to enter and exit the city.

Yesterday, Zhou Yanbu conquered Yuci, 30 kilometers south of Taiyuan, and then went south to Bentai Valley, and today Wang Hongwu killed under the city of Taiyuan.

This is a strange army, completely different from any army on this plane, not many in number, but the military discipline is strict, full of solemnity, as far as the eye can see, there is a sea of red flags outside the city.

It took only a few days for such an army to kill all the way from Beijing to Taiyuan City, and the soldiers defending the city couldn't help but be frightened.

Hearing that the Tiance army was coming, Zhou Yuji, the chief soldier of Shanxi Town, had retreated to the city and assisted Li Jiande to defend the city in Taiyuan City.

"They are all Ming courtiers, why do you have to meet each other like this?" Cai Maode, the governor of Shanxi, sighed as he looked at the Tiance army outside the city, and then looked at the frightened appearance of the defenders on the city wall, and couldn't help but shake his head secretly.

He is not optimistic about the defense ability of Taiyuan City, after all, it is a peaceful place in the hinterland, these guards and generals have rarely been on the battlefield, most of them have not seen blood, in the face of the famous and experienced Tiance Army, such a mental state is obviously unsatisfactory.

Cai Maode is a member of the Donglin Party, and his words are difficult to say in Shanxi and Xuanda, and there is also the King of Jin in Taiyuan City, who eats in the same pot as those major merchants.

At this moment, a staff member came over and whispered a few words to Cai Maode.

Cai Maode's expression was calm, he stroked the Buddha beads on his wrist, and said: "Okay, let Benfu go out of the city and persuade the army outside the city to fight each other." ”

Beside Cai Maode, all the staff, as well as his entourage, were all indignant, and a staff member said: "Cai Gong, by all means, these gentry and generals in Taiyuan have something to do with the Jin merchants, but you have never taken a tael of silver from them, why do you need to stand up for them?" ”

Cai Maode shook his head: "Ben Fu, as the governor of Jin Town, guarding the township, is a matter of course, where the duty lies, how can he retreat?" ”

Seeing this, the relatives couldn't persuade Cai Maode, so they had to say: "Then, the subordinates will go with Cai Gong!" ”

Cai Maode shook his head: "No need, Ben Fu went alone, hoping that the Tiance Army could only eliminate the first evil and not kill innocents indiscriminately." ”

He got down from the arch gate tower, rode a horse, and the gate guard trembled and opened the door a crack to let Cai Maode out of the door, and then with a bang, it quickly closed again.

Cai Maode looked back, smiled self-deprecatingly, patted his horse across the suspension bridge, and rode forward.

The spring breeze swept in and blew on his thin body, and the sleeves of his shirt fluttered, and he wanted to return with the wind.

……

"The circumference of Taiyuan City is twenty-eight miles, there are a total of five cities, the city has eight gates, the scale is huge, almost not less than the Beijing Division. Although our army has 9,000 troops, it is difficult to completely encircle it. "Sun Yuanlong, chief of staff of the Fourth Brigade, said to Brigade Commander Wang Hongwu.

The notice of the ultimatum has been broadcast to the city of Taiyuan through a loudspeaker, and now it is close to noon, the Tiance Army is preparing lunch, and the brigade headquarters holds a meeting of officers before the meal to arrange military affairs.

Wang Hongwu nodded and said: "I know this, I have already read the topographic map of Taiyuan City made by the staff officers, and the first thing we need to do is to block the eight city gates." ”

Sun Yuanlong said: "The city gates have been guarded by the security army, I suggest from the Yichun Gate and Yinghui Gate to attack, these two are the main gates of Taiyuan, from which you can go directly to the core area of Taiyuan. ”

"Breaking the city is easy for our army." Instructor Wang Wenquan frowned and said, "What I'm most worried about is street fighting, which may hurt more innocents." ”

Sun Yuanlong said with a smile: "The instructor is too worried, the Ming army rarely has a street fight, once the city is broken, the army's morale will be weakened." Moreover, the Ming army did not have the complete means of communication of our army, and it was difficult to coordinate and unify the war on its own. ”

"Report, a person was released in the city, claiming to be Cai Maode, the governor of Shanxi." The Signal Corps came to report.

Wang Hongwu said with a moving expression: "It seems that the person who sent us the ladder came." ”

……

In the tent of the barracks in the Tiance army, Cai Maode sat opposite Wang Hongwu, Wang Wenquan, and Sun Yuanlong, and he was not uneasy because he was in the army, and his expression was calm.

It happened to be lunchtime, and the orderlies brought lunch, Cai Maode was the governor after all, and Wang Hongwu also ordered someone to send him one.

Cai Maode's lunch was the same as that of Wang Hongwu and others, with luncheon meat, canned fish, cold cucumbers, fried shredded pork with shredded potatoes, egg soup with tomatoes and two white flour steamed buns.

Canned luncheon meat and fish are essential in the army, everyone has them, and the special thing about the officer's meal is that there is an extra cold cucumber.

This is a normal meal in the army when there is plenty of time, and the marching meal is luncheon meat, canned fish, compressed biscuits, toffee and other snacks.

Cai Maode ate a mouthful of steamed buns, ate another piece of fish, and nodded, this fish is slightly spicy and very appetizing.

He took another sip of tomato and egg soup, sighed and said, "This soup is sour and delicious, I don't know what this red vegetable is?" ”

Instructor Wang Wenquan said: "Cai Gong, this dish is called tomatoes, rich in vitamins, carotene and other elements that are beneficial to the human body, because the preservation time is relatively long, so my family commander, oh, is Lord Wang Shaobao requires a must in the army, these truths are also explained to us by Lord Shaobao." ”

Cai Maode nodded and said: "It is said that Lord Shaobao is a pedantic celestial, and what he knows and learns is quite mixed, so it is better to do it." ”