In July of the first year of Jingyou, the Northern Expeditionary Army of Yunlong Mountain finally took advantage of the flood after the heavy rain to surround Xuzhou and sent troops to occupy the military towns around Xuzhou.

The floods caused by the torrential rain have divided several important towns that were originally horns from each other, and no one dares to rush out of the city.

Hou Xuanyan made a quick decision and sent troops down the mountain to break them one by one, and the opportunity that he had waited for for so long finally came.

At this time, the news of Suzhou Yang Fujin falling into the water came, and Hou Xuanyan asked nervously: "Are you okay?" ”

"Mrs. Jin Ji has her own natural appearance, she was rescued by someone, and she is recuperating in the house at this time." The spy cautiously replied, for fear that Hou Xuanyan would be angry and he would be unlucky.

To his surprise, Hou Xuanyan was not angry, he was not a person who liked to vent his anger by angering others, and this matter had little to do with the Hidden Elephant Camp. Thinking of the little military doctor who was a little temperamental, Hou Xuanyan felt a little distressed, that was a girl who liked to be cared for and treated gently, but she suffered for a month with herself. Thinking that he was arbitrarily attacked by his temperament, Hou Xuanyan felt a little guilty for a while, this kind of girl's farewell thing couldn't help her get out of the panic at all, Hou Xuanyan's heart moved.

He ran to the peony forest and dug up a small flower with his own soldiers, and then returned to the tent, wrote a letter with a pen, and hung it on the tree. Hou Xuanyan told the spies of the submarine camp to bring this little flower back to her.

A few days later, in the Hou Mansion in Suzhou City, Yang Fujin finally showed a long-lost smile on his face while holding Xiaohua. The baby was buried in the courtyard in front of the court, looking at it every day, and his body was getting better day by day.

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The Middle Route Army had 230,000 people, and it was more than enough to occupy the entire Xuzhou, and it was still easy to divide troops to garrison various military towns.

When the flood waters receded, Nikan was desperate to find that he had been fenced off, just like Zilharang.

This means that he will no longer have troops, ammunition, and baggage to replenish, unless the imperial court sends troops to Xuzhou. Now it seems that this possibility is very small, and the Eastern Route Army in Shandong has made it difficult for the imperial court to sleep.

Despair permeated the entire Xuzhou City, the people of Xuzhou were lucky, Fengyang was the precedent, and the Qing soldiers did not dare to oppress and abuse the people excessively even if they were surrounded.

Zilharang had only 60,000 men, and Nikan's army of more than 100,000 was pure chicken ribs for defending the city. But the disadvantages of their large number soon became apparent, and the stock was emptied early.

Since ancient times, leading troops to attack the city has always been the side defending the city to occupy the geographical advantage, and the side besieging the city has paid a relatively large sacrifice. However, although the defending side occupies a local advantage, it has formed a siege situation, which means that the besieging side has mastered the initiative on the battlefield, and the battle or not is in the hands of the besieging side, and the entire battlefield situation is inclined to the besieging side.

The Northern Expeditionary Army had sufficient grain and grass, and the Salt River and the Grand Canal were used as the main routes for transportation, and the grain that was continuously transported was enough to sustain the army of 230,000. Nikan naturally knows it, standing at the head of Xuzhou, Aixinjue Luonikan's melancholy eyes look at it, full of the shadows of his predecessors. Bolo, Dordor, Luckedhun, Wakda, Zilharan....

The more Nikan thought about it, the more uneasy he became, before these Manchu royal families entered the customs, they were all ruthless people. After entering the customs, he was intoxicated by the world of flowers in the Central Plains, which was faster than the Han officials who degenerated. This is also normal, imagine that there are two people, one is a young master with a good family background, and the other is a poor and dilapidated household. Suddenly give them two a huge sum of money, so that they let go of the squandering, then there is a high probability that the poor one will be the first to fall.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty is like this, they are used to eating the last meal outside the pass, fighting with wild beasts and grabbing food, once they enter the Central Plains, not only have they seen the wealth and prosperity of drunken gold fans, but also become the master of all this, if they can still maintain the original martial and brave spirit, unless these Manchus are saints. Obviously, none of them were.

Yang Minggao, the chief soldier of Xuzhou, ran over panting, and exclaimed: "Lord Wang, how can you be here, the siege equipment of the Ming army is very powerful, they have a large number of artillery and crossbow arrows, the battle is together, the sword and gun have no eyes, you better go down to the city quickly." ”

Nikan said lightly: "Is it safe in the city?" ”

Yang Minggao was surprised to find that his Manchurian master's words were full of despair, the battle to defend the city had not yet begun, and the boss was timid first, so there was no chance of winning.

Yang Minggao immediately knelt down and said: "Don't panic, don't panic, we were born as Qing people, and we will die as ghosts of the Qing Dynasty, and we must protect our masters to guard Xuzhou City, and prevent Hou Xuanyan from stepping half a step across Xuzhou as a traitor." ”

His expression didn't seem to be fake, Nikan smiled heartily, and said: "General Yang, don't worry, I'm just joking, we have an army of 100,000, and I'm afraid of what he Hou Xuan will do." ”

Yang Ming said happily: "The prince has such an idea, it is really the blessing of the Qing Dynasty, the blessing of the imperial court, and the blessing of our Xuzhou military and people." ”

Nikan, who was already desperate, suddenly felt a sudden resurgence in his heart and regained his fighting spirit. What about the Han people, they never unite, just like this Yang Minggao who knelt at his feet, he was obviously a Han man, but he was determined to serve the Manchurians, and he thought it was a sign of loyalty. I don't know how many such traitors there are, with them, even if the number of armored men in Manchuria continues to decrease, they still have the strength to fight.

In late July, Hou Xuanyan, who had been recuperating in Yunlong Mountain for two months, finally raised his troops and went down the mountain.

The Matsue sailors went and returned, and this time there was no gunpowder in the city to shoot at him. In this way, you can ensure the safety of your artillery, after all, the city occupies a favorable position, and the firing range is even longer, if you really shoot, your side will suffer.

The black barrel of the cannon was aimed at the city wall of Xuzhou on the surface of the river, and countless shells poured down as if they didn't want money.

In cooperation with the Dutch, Matsue sailors and the Dutch produced artillery in their own arsenal, which had surpassed the guns of the Francoman, and their design and casting were more precise and powerful. These guns have thicker walls and thicker barrels from front to back, so they have increased range, increased lethality, and are less prone to bombing.

In the past, when he was rich, Hou Xuanyan never cared about these costs, but after the period when Zheng Zhilong locked the sea, Hou Xuanyan used to live with his fingers broken, and now when he heard this loud sound, he seemed to see silver balls turn into ashes one by one.

Fortunately, the money is well spent, and the city wall of Xuzhou has been riddled with holes, and it was soaked in water a few days ago, and gradually it has the meaning of not being able to support it.