Li Yan didn't pay much attention to the confrontation in front of him, and he didn't care much about the corpse of Shang Kexi brought back by Liang Zhenfang, he and Li Mu were now working on a Shenwei General Cannon of the Qing Army. l

"It's really two floors." Li Mu said in surprise: "How can you get it like this, you can still fight for two or three miles?"

Li Yan shook his head and said, "It's really novel." The outside seems to be made of copper, but the inside must be made of iron. ”

Li Mu knocked on the cannon without a gun truck, shook his head and said: "This Qing country is also quite wasteful, make a double-layer cannon." It's a pity that it's too heavy for field combat. ”

"They relied on cavalry and bows and arrows for field battles, and artillery was used to siege cities." Li Yan said while thinking.

Li Mu nodded and said with emotion: "The cavalry is indeed powerful, if they are not afraid of casualties and continue to attack, our military formation will soon be unable to hold on." We need more artillery to keep the cavalry out of the formation. ”

"Without infantry protection, artillery can't fight." Li Yan said: "The key is that the rate of fire is too slow, and the cavalry will not have much time to launch when they charge into formation." The Frankie cannon had a slightly faster rate of fire, but unfortunately it was not very airtight, and its range and power were lacking. ”

Li Mu looked at the dozens of captured cannons, frowned, and said, "It is estimated that the baggage team that came here will not be able to transport it back once, and it is inconvenient for us to carry it." ”

Li Yan said casually: "Put it in the city and use it as a city defense gun." ”

"I'm going to attack Tongzhou" Li Mu asked in surprise: "Wu Sangui has run away, only us, can we attack it?"

Li Yan smiled faintly: "Don't you see that the Qing army doesn't dare to fight, let's cross the river, they haven't been able to organize cavalry to come and intercept." Now so many thousands of cavalry have been dispatched, but they are standing two miles away and dare not move. At the beginning of the battle, they came straight at them with a roar. They were scared and did not dare to fight. ”

"There are more than 100,000 Qing troops chasing Li Zicheng in the south, and we have to prevent them from coming back to make trouble."

Li Yan nodded: "It will take five or six days for them to come back at the earliest." If we can't take Tongzhou within three days, we will withdraw to Tianjin. If it is defeated, it can just catch the Qing army's reinforcements by surprise. ”

"No wonder you let you pick up all the projectiles, you have already thought about it." Li Mu suddenly realized. As soon as the Qing army withdrew, Li Yan sent some people and asked them to take back all the projectiles that were shot, especially the solid ones.

However, Li Mu reminded again: "But the gunpowder has not been replenished." ”

Li Yan pointed to the barrels of gunpowder and boxes of projectiles in the distance, and said, "You can use the captured artillery for the time being, and let the craftsmen in the battalion make some gun mounts temporarily, so that they can fire cannons." It's not far from Tongzhou, and it doesn't take much effort to carry it through. ”

"Do you have to contact Wu Sangui" Li Mou proposed: "If Shanhaiguan fails, there will be no barrier for Zhili." ”

Li Yan thought for a while before nodding: "Well, send someone to inform him, Tang Tong and the others, and let them guard the Shanhaiguan." ”

Li Mu suddenly frowned and asked: "However, they have all surrendered to Li Zicheng, in what name should we contact them Now that Li Zicheng has escaped, will they move closer to the Qing court?"

"Now that the Qing army has fallen, they will naturally not take refuge in the Qing court. If we are defeated, we can't care who they turn to. Li Yan said lightly: "As for the name, let's use the name of Generalissimo Anping." ”

Li Mu asked puzzledly: "The title of the sister-in-law of the generalissimo of Anping has such a great appeal."

"What is the title of Wu Niang," Li Yan explained dissatisfiedly: "It is the Generalissimo of Anmin Rebellion, referred to as the Generalissimo of Anping"

"Let's not abbreviate it, just use the name of the generalissimo of Anmin to quell the turmoil, some people in the province say that you are borrowing the light of your sister-in-law." Li Mu suggested seriously: "You have to make a big banner and cast a big seal." ”

Li Yan instructed: "Let's talk about this later, let the craftsman come over to measure the size of the cannon first, and cut the wood to make the gun carriage first." Also, notify Tianjin and send some more ammunition over. There shouldn't be much danger for them for the time being, so it's okay to send some ammunition over. ”

After the cavalry of the Qing army retreated, Li Yan and his troops also crossed the Empress Dowager Xiao River, and then the troops were still arranged in a zigzag pattern, slowly advancing towards Tongzhou. The bodies of the wounded and fallen soldiers were also carried, except this time, in addition to the drums in the various arrays, there was also the sound of shouting trumpets and lifting artillery.

Especially those Shenwei General Cannons, with a weight of nearly 4,000 catties, it took more than 20 people to lift them. Along the way, there were stops and stops, and there were constant substitutions, and finally arrived at the periphery of Tongzhou in the evening.

Li Yan looked at the three-story ditches outside Tongzhou City and laughed a little, because those ditches were all in the shape of low walls and ravines. Originally, it was used to besiege Wu Sangui, but now they are surrounding themselves.

Due to the short time, the Qing army did not have time to reform, but only cut some of the soil on the inside of the low wall so that their soldiers could stand behind the low wall. In order to make it easier for the soldiers to come and go, they also put ladders on the trenches. Of course, the Han army was the main one who took on the task of defending the city, and the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners were all in the area within the moat.

Since most of the artillery was abandoned, especially the Kamui General Cannon, only three were brought back, and the firepower was seriously insufficient. In order to strengthen the defensive forces, a part of the slaves who came with them were also transferred to assist in the defense. If in the past, they wished they had the opportunity to go to the battlefield to make meritorious contributions, so that they would be able to mix up a half-official position.

But now they were not facing the Ming army, which was about to collapse at the touch of a button, but Li Yan's troops, which could not only stand still under the onslaught of their master's iron cavalry, but also inflict a large number of casualties on the Manchurian iron cavalry, which they considered to be the most powerful in the world. At this time, they are not so excited, but become sensitive and careful. In their minds, Li Yan's troops replaced their masters and became invincible heavenly soldiers, so they did not dare to have the heart to resist.

At this time, in Tongzhou City, there was a Shura hell. After the Qing army entered the city, they went on a killing spree. They broke into the houses of the city, and the killing and adultery began uncontrollably. In this way, they vented their fears and soothed their pain of defeat with the blood of the people.

Watching those Han people screaming in terror, kneeling down and begging for mercy, committing suicide in despair, etc., they finally regained their previous sense of arrogance, which is the performance of a cowardly Han people. As for Li Yan's troops, they forgot for the time being in the killing and adultery.

Dolgon did not stop this kind of violation of the rules set by the autumn when he first entered the customs. He knew that with the current morale of the banners, it was almost impossible to defeat Li Yan. What he needed now was to restore the morale of his troops, and only by defeating Li Yan would it be possible to rule the area north of the Yellow River.

As for the cheap things like the people's hearts, as long as they are given a little benefit, the people will be grateful to Dade and shout long live. Now there is no need to think about it at all.

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