The strong attack did not achieve much results in one day, and even the head of Jiujiang City was not attacked several times. On the contrary, nearly 10,000 soldiers were lost, and morale was extremely low. The impregnable walls of Jiujiang were like the abyss of hell to the attacking soldiers.

It is too difficult to break through Jiujiang, it is not a day's work, but now there is not much food left in the camp, and today except for the soldiers who are besieging the city, the food of other soldiers has been halved, but even this can support at most three days.

In the face of this situation, most of the generals in Xiying were panicked and desperate for being able to break through Jiujiang, since they could not break Jiujiang, they had to consider the next move as soon as possible, and Wang Zhaolin, the prime minister of Zuo, proposed to Zhang Xianzhong on behalf of the generals to evacuate Jiujiang as soon as possible.

"Retreat, where to retreat?" Zhang Xianzhong glared at Wang Zhaolin with a pair of red eyes.

"Let's evacuate to Nanchang first, and then divide the troops to eat in various prefectures and counties." Wang Zhaolin sighed.

"Prime Minister, you have also been in the army for so long, how can you say such retarded words!" Zhang Xianzhong couldn't help but scold, "How can hundreds of thousands of troops retreat if they want to?" The Ming army did not allow our army to retreat safely. I'm afraid that a retreat here will be a big defeat, and our army will no longer be able to stand on its feet! ”

The Western Army is four or five hundred thousand, the number is too large, and a hasty retreat will inevitably cause confusion in the system, and the various departments will rush to flee, coupled with the lack of food for the whole army, it may be a big defeat before the Ming army attacks. Wang Zhaolin naturally knows this truth, but in this situation, what can he do if he doesn't retreat?

"Your Majesty's considerations are naturally known, but now there are still some military rations, and if you wait until the food is exhausted, it will be even more difficult to retreat safely." Wang Zhaolin sighed, "We must not be able to hold this Jiangxi, Your Majesty can divide the route, so that most of the army retreats from Nanchang to the south to attract the Ming army to pursue, Your Majesty can take the elite of his henchmen from Jianchang to the west, along the Xiushui West, over the Mufu Mountain, you can enter the territory of Huguang, and join General Anxi's army."

Although Jiangxi was defeated, General Anxi and General Pingdong of Chengdu combined still had an army of nearly 200,000 people, and we still have the strength to make a comeback. ”

Wang Zhaolin persuaded hard. After several rounds of looting by the Western Army, the resentment of the people in Jiangxi was boiling, and when the defeat was made, it was impossible to hold Jiangxi. In front of Zhang Xianzhong, the only way out is to escape from Jiangxi as soon as possible and join Zhang Dingguo.

"Are you telling me to abandon this army of 500,000?" Zhang Xianzhong pointed at Wang Zhaolin and asked angrily, but Wang Zhaolin leaned over and said nothing.

"You!" Zhang Xianzhong pointed at Wang Zhaolin and wanted to continue scolding, but he couldn't scold.

Because he knew that Wang Zhaolin was thinking about himself, and it was also the only way for him to get out of the quagmire of Jiangxi. However, the price is too large, 500,000 troops, not 120,000. According to Wang Zhaolin's suggestion, even if he can escape to Huguang safely, there are few people who can escape with him.

How difficult it is to climb over a heavy mountain!

No, I'm not reconciled! I, Zhang Xianzhong, have been rebelling for nearly 20 years, and it is not easy to have today's huge force, so close to overthrowing the Ming Dynasty! As long as you can break through Jiujiang and defeat the Ming army in front of you, the entire Ming Dynasty will be your own! Thinking about it, Zhang Xianzhong's eyes showed a determined light.

"I will never abandon my troops and flee, I will definitely be able to capture Jiujiang and capture Chen Yue alive, and I will definitely be able to break through Nanjing and kill the Dog Emperor Chongzhen!" Zhang Xianzhong said more and more firmly, "Tomorrow we will continue to attack Jiujiang, the whole army will be divided into eight divisions, taking turns to attack the city, the middle army camp is the supervising army, those who dare to retreat without obeying the order, and those who are unfavorable in the siege will be killed!" ”

"Your Majesty!" Wang Zhaolin shouted, seeing Zhang Xianzhong's firm expression, his eyes showed a crazy state, and he sighed secretly, knowing that he could no longer be persuaded.

......

The next day, just after dawn, the camp was already boiling. The 200,000-strong army had breakfast and was ready to attack the city again. For the enthusiasm of his army, Zhang Xianzhong took out the little food left, so that the soldiers who participated in the siege had a full meal, and those who did not have a turn to attack the city could only drink gruel. As a result, the morale of the soldiers in the West Camp who were drawn suddenly rose high.

At the end of the hour, all the camp gates were opened, and 200,000 Western troops left the camp from all over the camp and forced towards Jiujiang City, ten miles away.

Of course, it is impossible for 200,000 people to participate in the siege at the same time, and although the Jiujiang city wall is vast, it cannot accommodate so many people. Instead, it is divided into five parts, which take turns to participate in the attack.

Cloud ladders, battering rams, shield carts, and all kinds of siege equipment were all put out, and the soldiers of the Western Army pushed them towards Jiujiang City. The tragic siege war is back!

Cannons rumbled, arrows rained down, projectiles flew up and down the city, and every moment someone fell to the ground with a shot and arrow, and blood flowed down the ground.

The first round of the siege of the city was quickly defeated, the city's artillery and a large number of firearms brought heavy casualties to them, before the ladder to the city wall, the loss of nearly a thousand people, the soldiers could not resist the noise and retreated.

However, before they could retreat to the rear, a group of black-clad Western army guards greeted them, and with a rain of arrows, dozens of soldiers who fled at the front were shot down. Zhang Xianzhong personally ordered that several generals in charge of his command were all cut down.

The emperor was ruthless, and the generals of the Western Army who participated in the second round of the attack no longer dared to slack off, and commanded his troops to start a strong attack.

Countless soldiers of the Western Army were ruthless, no longer caring about the rain of projectiles and arrows flying above their heads, and no longer caring about the accomplices who fell down from time to time around them, only the high city wall in front of them.

The soldier carrying the ladder was shot and fell to the ground, and the soldiers of the Western Army behind followed and lifted the ladder and continued to storm towards the city wall.

The ladder was set up at the head of the city, and there were soldiers with shields and sharp blades climbing up, and the stones fell like rain at the head of the city, and the insidious projectiles flew from the horses on both sides.

The archers of the western army stood in two rows under the city, drew their bows and arrows to return fire at the city, and the arrows flew like rain towards the city wall, most of which were blocked by the battlements, but many of them crossed the battlements and fell to the city.

The onslaught of the Western army also caused a lot of casualties to the Ming army, and from time to time there were Ming soldiers or young men on the city wall screaming and falling down with arrows. Of course, compared with the casualties of the Western army under the city, the casualties of the Ming army were much smaller.

However, the attack of the Western Army was too fierce, completely ignoring its own casualties, and with a posture of not wanting to die, it also climbed up the city along the ladder many times, and was driven down by the Ming army.

"The combat power of the Ming army in the city is much weaker than yesterday!" After the Western Army, Zhang Xianzhong stood on a hill surrounded by his own army, watching his own siege from afar, watching the soldiers attack the city several times, and couldn't help but think.

"It seems that the Ming army is exhausted, maybe it can really break the city!"