Although Wuchang is already an isolated city, Yang Xiaoshan does not dare to take it lightly. Wuchang's city defense is strong, which is better than Changsha. It has a radius of more than 20 miles, a diameter of more than 2,000 meters from east to west, more than 3,000 meters from north to south, the wall is more than 10 meters high, more than 20 meters thick, and the city wall is tall and strong and not easy to be broken.

Although there were tens of thousands of people in the front army, he still couldn't encircle Wuchang. Yang Xiaoshan did not rush to attack the city, he commanded the water battalion to capture Jinsha, Baisha and other key passes along the river, and at the same time commanded the army to seize the commanding heights outside the city and build a camp at risk.

Yang Xiaoshan's estimate was good, there were 3,000 defenders in Wuchang City, 2,000 people were transferred from Hankou Hanyang, and 1,000 people were rushed back to support Changsha, and now the total strength in the city is 6,000 people, plus more than 1,000 people recruited by the township braves temporarily, it is not so easy for the Taiping army to gnaw hard.

After the Taiping army had finished preparing outside Wuchang City, before the main force arrived, Yang Xiaoshan planned to conduct a tentative attack to see the strength of Wuchang's defense.

So he remembered the method in Jeonju, burning wet wood outside the city and setting off poisonous smoke. Unexpectedly, this Chang Governor was a caring person, he consulted the siege information of the Taiping Army, and prepared a water dragon on the city wall. The poisonous smoke of the Taiping army was extinguished before it was released.

Seeing that the poisonous smoke did not work, Yang Xiaoshan followed the usual siege routine and asked the team to set up ladders to attack the city. The wood, stone, and artillery on the city wall of the Qing army were fired, and the Taiping army suffered many casualties, but Yang Xiaoshan let the team retreat in time to avoid greater casualties.

After repelling the first attack of the Taiping army, Governor Chang's heart calmed down a little, and rewarded the defenders with a silver tael to boost morale.

But he was not happy for long, and two days later the main force of the Taiping army arrived. As soon as Yang Xiuqing, the king of the east, arrived, the Taiping army immediately surrounded Wuchang.

On the same day, Yang Xiuqing summoned Yang Xiaoshan to discuss the siege of the city.

"Xiaoshan, you played well. This king has seen your water camps. It's no longer what it used to be, and we have several big warships. You have arranged this Tang Zhengcai very well, and after a while, this king will have to promote him well. Yang Xiuqing praised Yang Xiaoshan at the beginning.

"Thank you, father, it's all what Xiaoshan should do." Yang Xiaoshan didn't dare to take credit, after all, Wuchang has not been won yet, and everything is still unknown.

Sure enough, after Yang Xiuqing finished praising Xiaoshan, he looked worried again, and said to himself: "Although we have temporarily surrounded Wuchang City now, Xiang Rong and Na Hechun are chasing after us. Although this king let the Winged King play with them for a few days, after all, we have too many people, and now they are not far from us, and there is not much time left for us to attack the city. Yang Xiuqing's face was a little pessimistic, after all, when it came to attacking the city, the Taiping army was always a little lacking in confidence.

"Where's Kazuharu?" Yang Xiaoshan wanted to know the dynamics of the pursuers.

"Here, near Kashiwagi Ridge. This is still thanks to some of the sailors you left in Yuezhou to block them, if they take the waterway faster, our situation will be more passive. Yang Xiuqing pointed to the map.

Yang Xiaoshan made a visual inspection, and his heart also hung up, and Baimuling was only ten days away from Wuchang.

"The most worrying thing is not Hechun, Hechun's team is in the bright place, I asked the Wing King to block him. This king is worried about Xiang Rongbu, and the spies have not been able to figure out his specific location. This man is thoughtful, and his march is flickering, and the king has a hunch that he will appear in places we don't expect. Yang Xiuqing's tone was a little low, and she seemed to be under a lot of pressure.

"Once the Qing army appears on the periphery of Wuchang, it is very likely that the inside and the outside will be united, and then we may not be able to surround this Wuchang City." Yang Xiaoshan said what Yang Xiuqing wanted to say but didn't say.

"Yes, when the time comes, it will be like Changsha, entering a dead end where it cannot be attacked but is surrounded." Yang Xiuqing patted the table and vented her pressure.

"The situation is not so bad, we have Hanyang and Hankou in hand, we can put the people there first." Yang Xiaoshan said with relief.

"This king has already arranged this, you let the water camp build a pontoon bridge over the Yangtze River, and the two sides of the strait will maintain linkage, and reinforce the siege here at any time." Yang Xiuqing's eyes began to sharpen, and he abandoned his bad emotions and concentrated on the siege of the city.

"Okay, I'll let Tang Zhengcai go to build a pontoon bridge." Yang Xiaoshan answered.

"How's the tunnels dug up?" Yang Xiuqing asked again.

"I asked Lu Guojin to dig a tunnel a few miles outside the Wenchang Gate, according to the people who came to Wuchang to take refuge, the city wall at the Wenchang Gate is the least solid, and the Qing army here is also poor. This gate is closer to our camp, so Xiaoshan chose this place as the breakthrough. Yang Xiaoshan hurriedly replied.

"Yes, this king trusts your judgment. Ten days, ten days at most, the most time this king can give you, you must take Wuchang City. Can you do it? Yang Xiuqing gave the deadline.

"Xiaoshan will do his best." Yang Xiaoshan didn't know the bottom in his heart, and he didn't dare to agree.

"You can't do your best, you have to do it! So many soldiers and civilians in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are counting on you. Yang Xiuqing patted Xiaoshan on the shoulder and asked.

"Yes, you must take Wuchang!" Yang Xiaoshan knew that he had to take a stand now.

"Take Wuchang, this king will invite the king of heaven, and then you will be promoted to be the inspector. We are waiting to celebrate your achievements and not to disappoint this king. Yang Xiuqing pinned all her hopes on Yang Xiaoshan.

As the days passed, the situation became more complicated. In addition to Hechun and Xiang Rong, several other Qing army commanders also arrived one after another. Although the winged king Shi Dakai successfully blocked Hechun at Changhongqiao, he had to divide his troops to block several other general troops. And the cunning Xiang Rong took advantage of the short-term chaos of the Yiwang Department to quietly bypass the Taiping Army and seize Hongshan from the East Road.

This Hongshan is only ten miles away from Wuchang City, and it is the commanding height in the east of the city. Ascending this mountain, the situation in Wuchang can be seen at a glance. The Taiping army didn't have too many defenders here, and they didn't expect the Qing army to appear here, so they were attacked by Xiang Rong.

After Xiang Rong captured this strategic location, once the Taiping army attacked the city, he was likely to attack from the flank, thus curbing the Taiping army's siege momentum.

The Taiping army carelessly lost Hongshan and suffered the enemy on the back, so Yang Xiuqing had to send Wei Changhui's troops to defend it.

This time, the number of siegers that Yang Xiaoshan could mobilize in his hands was much less, but fortunately, the earthen camp commanded by Lu Guojin worked very hard and dug the tunnel leading to Wenchang Gate in advance.

Yang Xiaoshan was very happy to learn that time is life now. That evening he went to inspect the earthen camp.

"The tunnels are all opened?" Yang Xiaoshan said with concern.

"Well, three of them were opened, and they all dug to the foot of the city wall of Wenchang Gate. It's a pity that there is not much time, otherwise I could have dug a few more. "Lu Guojin is still very reliable.

"Are you ready with explosives?" Yang Xiaoshan's most important thing is whether he can blow up the city wall.

"Shizi, I'm ready. You see, it's all piled up over there. Lu Guojin pointed to the storehouse of the earthen camp.

Although Yang Xiaoshan didn't understand the explosives of this era, he knew one thing, that is, if the explosives were sealed, the explosion effect would be better. So he spoke: "Guojin, can you think of some way to put these explosives into something sealed, so that the explosion effect will be better, if you don't believe it, you might as well test it." ”

"Really? Is there such a statement? I'll give it a try. Although Lu Guojin was very familiar with explosions, he had never considered this aspect, and by Yang Xiaoshan, he seemed to have a flash of inspiration, as if he had opened his mind.

It's a pity that there is not much time left for Lu Guojin, no matter whether the experiment can be successful or not, when it is dawn, it is necessary to launch an attack, and whether or not Wuchang City can be conquered is a matter of one fell swoop.