With the morning fog on the river, the last ship was ushered in, heading for Suzhou.

The ship was full of Changzhou officials, who stayed on until the last ship, which had sent the people on the horses, horses and cargo ships bound for Suzhou, before choosing to set off.

Hou Xuanyan stood by the river and instructed: "Go to Suzhou and tell Xia Yunyi that he will take my governor's seal and mobilize people from all provinces in Zhejiang to come to support." ”

Gu Shouzheng nodded heavily, and arched his hand: "The commander is concerned about the safety of the community, remember to take care of your body, and put safety first!" ”

Hou Xuanyan smiled and said to the officials on the ship: "When you arrive in Suzhou, you must also remember that you are all parents and officials in Changzhou, and the people of Changzhou need you to settle properly." There are priorities, and now that the war here is tight, I can't be distracted and deal with it, so I'll leave it to all of you. ”

The officers on the ship crossed their toes and bare their heads and said in unison: "Don't worry, the commander." ”

Once upon a time, defending the city was the best stage for the famous generals of the Central Plains to become famous all over the world. In the Tang Dynasty, Zhang patrolled Suiyang, and the old and weak soldiers of a city blocked the battle of An Lushan and Xiangyang in the Southern Song Dynasty, and the Mongolian Tatars who swept the world were blocked by Xiangyang for seven years.

But now, with the advent of artillery, the average city wall can no longer withstand these powerful weapons. Rao is a famous general, and he is often planted in front of these black cannon barrels. In history, whether Yan Yingyuan defended Jiangyin or Zhu Dadian defended Jinhua, they were all bombarded by artillery to open the city wall, and they hated to lose it.

Duoduo also didn't sleep all night, and his bow horse riding and archery since he was a child gave him a far stronger physique than the average person. Since he entered the customs, he has gone all the way south, and I don't know how many Han cities he has taken. Changzhou in front of him is already at the end of the crossbow, and it can be easily taken as long as the shelling is over.

With a loud bang, a gap in the southeast corner of Changzhou was hit again by shells. Under the light of the fire, an inverted cone-shaped gap appeared in the city wall. The defenders above wailed and mixed with the dirt, and the miserable situation was unbearable to look at.

Yan Yingyuan looked at the sky and estimated that the time had exceeded the hour, when the herald of the city hurriedly arrived and said, "General, the commander has an order, everyone should withdraw from Changzhou." ”

Changzhou City was to defend the city in batches, with 100,000 soldiers divided into three groups and taking turns to defend the city. The other two groups had already been transferred out of Changzhou after the final change of guard, and Yan Yingyuan listened to the words of the heralds, commanded the last defenders, and retreated to the city in an orderly manner.

The Qing soldiers on the other side were already cheering frantically, just waiting for the cannon to end, and the flood rushed down the city. The torrent of tens of thousands of people, like a black cloud, pressed towards Changzhou.

A Han Qing soldier held up a simple knife, spit out a mouthful of bloody spit, and scolded: "Inhuman Tartar dogs, the daytime charge let us take our lives in front of us, and the brothers used their lives to consume the artillery in Changzhou, and now they are rushing to the front." ”

Yang Wulie, the general behind him, happened to hear it, and whipped him on the back, scolding: "Don't fucking fart here, bring disaster to Lao Tzu, and spread it to the ears of the people, I cut your tongue first." ”

The little soldier was whipped in the face, but there was no reaction, his body was covered with blood, and he was already numb from injuries. Hiding hatred in their eyes, they rushed forward with their heads bowed, and at their feet, there were countless corpses, all left behind during the siege of the city during the day.

The Eight Banners rushed to the city, but they did not meet the expected resistance, and not even a stone fell. The first Eight Banners were stunned for a moment, and then climbed to the city along the gap, and several bannermen came to the city gate and opened the Changzhou City Gate.

Duoduo saw it clearly, lifted the reins of the horse, and sneered: "The Ming army left their people and fled, and the people of Changzhou resisted the heavenly soldiers and killed the rebels in the city. Whoever grabs the goods of the people in the city will be regarded as a reward for the siege of the city today. ”

The general next to him asked, "Lord Wang, be careful that the Han people go and return, and kill a horse pistol." ”

Duoduo pursed his lips disdainfully and said, "If the Han soldiers dare to come back, are you afraid of street fighting?" The generals gathered around him burst into laughter.

The herald passed the order down, and the eyes of the Qing soldiers were green, and they rushed into the city with a scream. They killed all the way, and they had long been familiar with the methods of slaughtering the city, and they poured into the people's houses like torrents. It's a pity that the butcher's knife has been raised, but not even a single figure can be seen.

Disappointed, the Qing soldiers began to search from house to house, no one killed, and it was always good to find something valuable. As for the dark road on the ground, it was not yet light, but they didn't care.

Outside the eastern city, Yan Yingyuan looked ashamed, and bowed his head to Hou Xuanyan and pleaded guilty: "The last general has betrayed the trust of the commander and failed to hold Changzhou, please punish the commander." ”

Hou Xuanyan pulled him up and asked, "Have the brothers withdrawn?" ”

Yan Yingyuan knew everything about Changzhou, raised his head and said: "Our soldiers and horses are all here, but there are still mountains of money and grain in the treasury, and there are still many people in the city who are unwilling to leave the city, and they don't know where to hide. ”

Hou Xuanyan nodded, it's a pity that money and food are this thing, but there is no way. Originally, I planned to come to Changzhou to block the counterattack, so I continued to transport it to Changzhou. Who knew that the colleagues in the north gave Jiannu too many cannons. As for those people who refuse to leave the city, they have already said that they will be treated as traitors if they are lucky. Now is not the time for a woman's benevolence, and a moral saint is least needed at the juncture of the extinction of the race.

Hou Xuanyan played with the kite-shaped thing in his hand and said with a smile: "This Divine Fire Crow has long hairs in the Suzhou Armament Warehouse. Normally, this thing is useless, but this time it will come in handy. ”

Hong Yixun pushed aside the crowd, leaned into his ear and said, "Big brother, the fireballs on the catapult are also ready, and they can be thrown as long as they are ignited." ”

Hou Xuanyan was silent, calculating the time for the Qing soldiers to enter the city, until Dongcheng heard the shouts of the Qing soldiers, and then shouted loudly: "Set fire!" Roast wild boar! ”

The Suzhou soldiers, who were hidden in the forest on the outskirts of Dongcheng, threw all kinds of fire-setting artifacts that had been prepared long ago into the city.

Hou Xuanyan personally lit a flying fire crow, and the fireworks that spewed out smoked his uninjured palm green, making him scream in pain.

Looking at the strange eyes of the people around him, Hou Xuanyan felt embarrassed, scratched his scalp and scolded: "This thing reminds Lao Tzu of the fear of being dominated by the Drill Sky Monkey." ”

Looking up, the city was already a sea of fire, the untreated coal was not completely burned, and the billowing smoke was mixed with all kinds of poisonous gases, and many Qing soldiers fell to the ground when they smelled it.

The fire was large, but it was not deadly in the city, and what was really terrifying was the smoke and the panic it caused. The Qing soldiers, who were lucky not to be choked to death by the smoke, rushed out of the city, but the rear army did not know where to go, and they were still rushing into the city. The huge inertia does not mean that it can be stopped, and the two Qing soldiers collided together, and countless Qing soldiers trampled to death on the official road in the city.

The Qing soldiers, who were whipped by the general Yang Wulie, stared blankly at the city gate in front of them, turned around and ran. The Eight Banners masters he scolded in his mouth were unlucky.