Li Guo and Yuan Zongdi came to Li Zicheng's big tent and asked Li Zicheng for his guilt.

Li Zicheng did not blame them. He had been watching from behind, knowing that they had done their best. So he waved his hand, got the two of them up, and asked, "How many casualties do you have?" ”

Li Guo replied in frustration: "Our department suffered more than 1,700 casualties. ”

"Nearly two thousand casualties." Yuan Zongdi reported in a low voice.

The other generals all exclaimed in a low voice, surprised at the loss of so much. Li Zicheng sighed: "In just half an hour, there were 4,000 casualties, and there was not even a single person who climbed the top of the city. ”

"Li Yan's troops have already prepared, and we are attacking too quickly." Gao Yigong found the reason for the two: "We should bombard the city wall with artillery first." ”

Li Zicheng suddenly became angry and roared loudly: "How many gunpowder projectiles do you need to use in a small Yanling county?!" How much time does it take? In this way, when we get to Kaifeng City, do we still have the spirit to attack the city?! ”

Liu Fangliang said: "It won't take much time, just two or three days, even if you can't knock down the city wall, there are few defenders left." ”

"The problem is that Cao Cao is staying at Changge now, saying that he is going to wait for us." Li Zicheng said loudly: "He stopped there, Chen Yongfu doesn't know what he is going to do?!" If Chen Yongfu also fled to Kaifeng, Kaifeng would have added another 20,000 defenders. Coupled with Liu Zeqing's 20,000 people and Li Yan's 20,000 or 30,000 people, can Kaifeng still be defeated? ! ”

Liu Zongmin said lightly: "It's okay to stop now and cooperate with Li Yan." With Li Yan in the way, the officers and troops in the north can't get down, so it's just right for us to go to Huguang. After we gain a firm foothold in Huguang, it is not too late to deal with Li Yan's problem. ”

Li Zicheng said helplessly: "Look at the current Yanling City, there are only one or two thousand people in it, and it is already so strong." When we take down Huguanglai, Li Yan can also train tens of thousands of elite soldiers, how can he deal with it? ”

"Then don't hesitate, just call it." Liu Zongmin said casually. For Li Yan, he also felt very conflicted, and he didn't know how to deal with the relationship with Li Yan. It is said that they have posted so many notices, and the imperial court should already know about it, but they still let Li Yan stay in Kaifeng steadily, and they have no intention of moving Li Yan at all. So even if it is cooperation, they feel uneasy.

Li Zicheng was silent for a while, and then ordered: "Let the craftsmen of Runing work overtime and rush to send the projectiles and gunpowder over in a steady stream." We have more than 100 cannons, and I don't believe we can't beat him! ”

Everyone relaxed at this time, knowing that there was no need to attack again. It's best to have a cannon to solve the problem.

At this time, the sound of "boom", "boom" cannon fire continued. The artillery was erected more than 180 paces away from the city wall, and sandbags were placed in front of it as shelter. Because they found that the defenders in the city did not seem to have artillery, only a few tiger squat cannons, otherwise they would not dare to set up cannons at this distance.

Some of the rogues were sent to the unfilled moats, using the sandbag bunkers of Li Yan's subordinates to hide, ready for the next attack at any time.

Because the distance was too close, the tiger squat cannon on the city wall could not hit. If you can stand up and throw a bomb outside, you might throw it in a moat. But now the thieves have been bombarding the walls with cannons, and there are always a few shells that can hit the battlements, and the soldiers are busy stacking sandbags on the battlements, where is the time to throw bombs.

At this time, the people of the city also came to help, digging up the earth, bagging it, and sending sandbags to the city walls. At this time, there was no way to live in the city with peace of mind, and once the shells entered the city, they could collapse the houses, and they could only move under the city walls for shelter.

The people also have the consciousness of defending the county town together with the officials and soldiers defending the city, and the officials and soldiers have killed and injured so many thieves, if the city is broken, the thieves will definitely slaughter the city. Therefore, at this time, there is no need for Zhou He to mobilize, and the people themselves know to help the officials and soldiers defend the city.

The thieves' artillery continued to fire shells at the county seat, but the speed of the fire was much slower, and each cannon only fired three or four projectiles in a quarter of an hour.

In this way, the soldiers defending the city had a chance to breathe. They put sandbags behind the battlements and began to carry some supplies up the city from the warehouses under the base of the walls. Arrows, bombs, flowering bombs, fire oil, and other things must be prepared in advance to prevent the thieves from attacking the city again. Some wood and torches were also brought up to prepare for the repair of the gun sheds that had been damaged by the thieves' shells. It is also necessary to prepare lighting at night to prevent thieves from sneaking up at night.

As soon as the sun went down, while it was still dark, Zhou He wrote a brief report and released the carrier pigeon. But the pigeon had just flown a few hundred paces north when it was shot down by the thieves.

"How's that okay?" An officer said anxiously: "The marshal can't see our report, will he think that we are all dead and will not send troops to rescue us?" ”

Zhou He said: "Don't think about it, the nearby Fugou and Wei clans have our people, and the marshal will naturally know our situation." Let's work hard to persevere, even if we die in battle, the marshal will treat our family well. Don't worry, make it clear to the soldiers, so that everyone should not have other distracting thoughts, so as not to harm themselves and their families. ”

The officers nodded, stooped over and walked against their sandbags, silently returning to their posts. The gunfire of the thieves has not stopped, and it is estimated that it will continue until dark.

Outside the city, Li Zicheng got Zhou He's pigeon letter.

After reading the small note, he handed it to Liu Zongmin, and said with some jealousy: "Look, after one day of fighting, we lost 4,000 elite soldiers and 8,000 people, and the losses caused to them were only 29 casualties." ”

After reading it, Liu Zongmin handed it to Yuan Zongdi next to him, and said helplessly: "I actually said that I could hold on for three to four days, it seems that these defenders are indeed the elite of Li Yan's men." ”

"Will Li Yan send reinforcements over?" After Li Guo saw it, he said, "We have to be ready, so as not to panic when we get it." ”

If they encountered other officers and soldiers, they would have been able to fight in the field outside the city. But for Li Yan's troops, they had no confidence at all.

"Why don't you sneak up on it while it's dark." Yuan Zongdi proposed: "Even if the sneak attack fails, it can consume the physical strength of the defenders. They are just a few people, let them not rest, and tomorrow they will collapse. ”

Li Zicheng shook his head and said: "Forget it, let's transfer the remaining artillery team as well, let them take turns firing artillery and resting, and keep all night long, so that the defenders can be exhausted." Most of the night raids have no effect, so we don't have to waste our soldiers in vain. ”

None of them had any opinions. As long as the cannon does not blow up and the gunpowder projectile is sufficient, this is the best way.

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