The roaring cannon sound resounded in the sky, from morning to night, and from night to day, and again, all kinds of large and small cannonballs bombarded Zhengyang, Chongwen and Xuanwu three gates of the city head to a thousand holes, but also directly collapsed the city tower of Xuanwu Gate, caused the fire of the Chongwen Gate city tower, countless shells flew over the city wall into the city, and the streets and alleys in the south of Beijing Mancheng were blown to the ground of broken houses, the courtyard collapsed and the wall collapsed, and countless people of the city banner were affected by the war. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

In the meantime, some cannonballs fell into the elephant training center in the northwest of Xuanwu Gate, alarming many honor elephants domesticated by the Manchu court at great expense.

In the shout, the Qing soldiers carried the heavy and long flying ladder and rushed to the corpse-ridden city wall battlefield again, exhaustion was written on the faces of these Qing soldiers, sweat mixed with blood flowed on their faces, the front of the guns and bullets rained, the shells bounced, but these Qing soldiers did not dare to stop and rest, because behind them, there was a large group of heavily armed Qing army supervisors waiting for them with guns, if they dared to stop and turn around, dense bullets would hit them unceremoniously.

On the city wall, the faces of the Wu soldiers who were blackened by the smoke of the war were written with more exhaustion, and there were countless soldiers and generals with colored blood on their bodies, and the whistling bullets and shells kept crossing their heads, but the Wu soldiers still looked resolute, holding the muskets tightly, and waited indifferently for the Qing army crowd to rush into the firing range to meet the tragic offensive and defensive battles that no longer knew how many times they had occurred.

"Shoot!" With the obvious hoarse command in their voices, the soldiers of the Wu army raised their guns neatly, aimed and fired, and after retreating, they loaded their ammunition, and the soldiers in the back row stepped forward to raise their guns and fired again at the tide of Qing soldiers under the city......

On the night of the seventh day of the first lunar month, after the Qing army used the drainage secret road to attack the Wu army, the exhausted Manchu minister Guan Wen fell ill and could no longer command the army to fight. As a last resort, Devil Liu, Mianyu and others could only bite the bullet and invite back the monk and the prince, and the dead horse was like a live horse doctor, and invited the monk and the prince to the throne of the commander of the Qing army again, and took over the official text to continue to command the siege.

The good fortune of the monk and the prince is not only this, just regained control of the army, and the new army of Shandong Yuan Baoheng, who rushed from Shandong to King Qin, rushed to the capital, adding an elite to the main force of the Qing army, which already had the absolute upper hand on the local battlefield, and an elite strong army that can fight tough battles and dare to fight tough battles.

In the next two days or so, the monk also proved that he was indeed the best candidate for the commander of the Qing army except for the official documents, making full use of the numerical advantage of the main force of the Qing army, and commanding the Qing army commandos to attack the position at the south gate of the city in turn during the day, not giving the main force of the Wu army a chance to rest and adjust; After the evening, in addition to strengthening the frontal attack, the monk and the prince made full use of the Qing army's familiarity with the terrain and the cover of the night, and constantly attacked the weak points of the Wu army defense at the three ends of the city wall in the east, west and north of the city with small forces.

No Qing army general dared to say that the tactics of the monk were not right, taking advantage of the occasional sober opportunity of the official text, when the devil Ziliu and the old prince Hui introduced the tactics of the monk to him, the official man also nodded calmly and said: "The monk and the prince's fighting style is right, if it is commanded by the old man, the old man will also fight like this." ”

"Official platform, since the monk and the prince's tactics are correct, why can't the city be defeated for a long time?" The devil asked worriedly.

Guan Wen smiled bitterly and muttered: "That's because he was too unlucky and ran into Zeng Guoquan and Zeng Laojiu." ”

The reason why the Qing army failed to break through the city for nearly four days and three nights in a continuous onslaught was that Zeng Guoquan was well-organized, effective in command, and good at fighting defensive battles, and a more important reason was that the officers and men of the Wu army were brave and tenacious, persevering, and no matter how hard and tired they were, no matter how heavy and tired they were, and how heavy the casualties were, they always held their positions and did not take a step back. Otherwise, no matter how effective Zeng Guoquan's command is, it will not be effectively carried out by the army, and it will be an empty word.

Under the command of a small number of Wu army veterans, they patrolled the city wall positions day and night, closely monitored the movements of the streets and alleys in the city, and prevented the Mancheng Banner people from launching a riot at any time. Effectively protect the security behind the main force of the Wu army.

In addition, many homeless beggars who joined the Wu army in order not to starve to death quickly grew into real Wu soldiers after repeated baptisms of war, fighting side by side with the main soldiers of the Wu army on the front line of the city wall, and bravely killing the enemy.

In the face of the frantic onslaught of the main force of the Qing army, the reason why the Wu army, which had less than 10,000 combat troops, was able to firmly hold the city of Beijing, which had a circumference of 47 li, was not lost and not broken by the Qing army, and the Wu army's auxiliaries, which were mostly homeless beggars, also made great contributions.

Not only did they honestly carry out the various orders of the veterans of the Wu army, but also helped the soldiers of the Wu army in the defense of the city, and also took the initiative to expose some of the clothed minions who secretly spread dangerous remarks, helping the officers and men of the Wu army to quickly kill these unchanging minions and eliminating many dangers and hidden dangers within the Wu army.

Of course, the reason why these Wu Army auxiliaries who turned out to be the Eight Banners were so loyal was because they loved Wu Chaoyue, the king of Zhennan who raised troops to rebel, from the bottom of their hearts, and hated the chaotic party in the capital led by devils! It was not because of the covetousness of Wu Jun's promise of a heavy reward on the spot, let alone because a certain bad species surnamed Zhang had the idea to force them to torture and kill the captured Qing soldiers and the restless Mancheng Banner people in public, cutting off their way back to the warm embrace of the Eight Banners of the Great Qing Dynasty.

Both sides of the war were red-eyed and tried their best, and in such a situation, the advantage of the Qing army in having many generals and the advantage of the Wu army in occupying a geographical position was also fully reflected at the same time. The main force of the Qing army, with sufficient soldiers, took turns to go into battle, taking turns to attack the positions of the Wu army, trying to wear down the Wu army alive; The Wu army, which was short of the main force, relied on the advantage of the condescending city wall to meet the attack bravely and supported it, and also hoped to rely on the fierce battle to inflict heavy losses on the Qing army, forcing the Qing army to take the initiative to give up the tactics of attacking day and night under the condition of heavy casualties.

On the evening of the tenth day of the first lunar month, Zeng Guoquan had to consider withdrawing to the Forbidden City to continue to hold on, and almost all the generals of the Qing army knelt in front of the monk and begged to let the army rest for a while, and made another siege plan, but the monk and the prince flatly refused, and killed a Qing army general who openly opposed the continuation of the siege on the spot, and roared: "If you can't hold on, you have to hold on!" No matter how big the casualties are, they have to be fought! At this time, stopping the siege is equivalent to losing all the previous efforts! ”

I didn't understand the military and didn't dare to interfere with the command and dispatch of the monk and the prince, and the devil six and the others could only take the opportunity of the old fox Guanwen to wake up again and ask the official for advice, but the official text stood on the side of the monk and the prince again, and said in a weak voice: "The monk is right, stop the siege at this time, and our previous efforts and sacrifices will be in vain." We can only continue to attack the city, force the Wu thieves to abandon the inner city, fully retreat to the Forbidden City, and let us get the grain and grass military supplies hoarded in the inner city, so that we can turn around and calmly deal with the Wu thief reinforcements. ”

Seeing that Guan Wen also agreed to continue the siege of the city, the devil six and the others were a little relieved, but Guan Wen, who had been sleeping in bed, suddenly asked, "Lord Wang, what day is it now?" When is it? ”

"On the tenth day of the first month, it was just dark." Devil Six replied.

"The tenth day of the first month?!" The surprise of the official text was not trivial, and he suddenly opened his eyes and exclaimed: "Where is the Shanxi Wu thief?" Any news? ”

"This afternoon, Yi Xing'a, the acting governor of Zhili, sent someone to send an urgent report, saying that he had fought with Wu thieves in Shanxi Province in the southern suburbs of Dingxing yesterday evening, and he had made a small gain." Devil Six said with relief: "Counting the distance, the Shanxi Wu thieves will not arrive in the capital until the morning of the day after tomorrow at the earliest, and we still have time." ”

"Did Yi Xing'a say that he was fighting against the main force of the Shanxi Wu thieves? What is the specific location in the southern suburbs of Dingxing? Guan Wen asked sharply.

"Nope." Devil Six replied.

"It's broken!" Guan Wen screamed and scolded: "Yixing's child, the capital is in such a critical situation, you still dare to conceal the military situation!" You goddamn idiot! ”

"Bureaucracy, what's wrong?" Devil Six hurriedly asked.

"Yi Xing'er is vague, which means that he is not telling the truth!" Guan Wen coughed and screamed: "The old man can be sure that even if he fought with the Wu thieves yesterday evening, he would definitely only fight with the rear team of the Wu thieves in Shanxi, and the main force of the Wu thieves in Shanxi must be in front!" And definitely away from the back team! Otherwise, Yi Xing'er has the courage to fight a field battle with Shanxi Wu thieves?! ”

When the devil's face began to turn pale, Bao Jun stumbled in and shouted loudly: "Lord Wang, it's not good, Zhuozhou is urgent, this morning is more than halfway through, Shanxi Wu thieves are coming to the city of Zhuozhou, going around the city, and coming straight to the direction of the capital!" Counting the distance, Shanxi Wu thieves may rush to the capital tomorrow! ”

Before Bao Jun finished speaking, Devil Liu's face was already like ashes, but the official document calmed down and said: "Fortunately, the Qing officials in Zhuozhou are quite competent, and they didn't forget to warn us, and the speed at which the Shanxi Wu thieves came to the capital was about the same as the old man estimated, and we don't need to worry about being caught off guard by being killed by them." Bao Zhongtang, quickly, you go to see the monk in person, tell him the news, and ask him to come to see me immediately. ”

Bao Jun agreed, handed over the Tang newspaper he had just received to the devil Zi Liu, and rushed to invite the monk and the prince, and then after a while, the monk and the prince with red eyes and black circles rushed in, and shouted as soon as he entered the door: "How did the Shanxi Wu thief come so quickly?" Why did we get the news after Zhuozhou? ”

"This question, you should ask your hand-picked Ixing." Guan Wen muttered angrily in his heart, but his face was silent, he just said: "Monk Wangye, talk about other things slowly, let's talk about military affairs first, our time is running out, the old man thinks that it is of course best for you to break through the inner city tonight, if you can't, you must stop attacking the city early tomorrow morning, reorganize the army, and turn around to meet the Wu thief reinforcements." ”

"What? An order to this king? Things have come to this, why does this king still listen to you, an old minion? ”

The monk was annoyed in his heart, and after careful calculation, the monk and the prince really found a reason to refute the official document with confidence, and said: "Xiufeng, your proposal is not feasible, our Qing army has been fighting for four days and three nights, and the Shanxi Wu thieves will definitely rush to the capital within tomorrow to reinforce Zeng Guoquan's rebel thieves, and stop attacking the city tomorrow morning, our soldiers have too little time to rest, how can they intercept the Shanxi Wu thieves?" ”

"Our army is tired, and the Wu thief army must be even more tired, and if we attack for one night, it may not be impossible to break the city."

Guan Wen said bitterly: "If you are worried that the army is too tired and will not be able to effectively meet the Shanxi Wu thieves tomorrow, you can arrange it like this, first withdraw Yuan Baoheng's army to rest, and let him lead the army to take the initiative to attack tomorrow morning, and go south to meet the Shanxi Wu thieves. ”

Iron-hearted and unwilling to be at the mercy of the old slave official text, the monk shook his head again categorically, and said even more eloquently: "Xiufeng, your arrangement is equivalent to putting the main force of my Qing Dynasty and the nine cities inside and outside the table together, if Yuan Baoheng can't stop the Shanxi Wu thieves, let the Shanxi Wu thieves successfully kill the foot of the capital, then our army is exhausted, and the Wu thieves are greatly boosted, what hope do we have for annihilating the Wu thieves in Shanxi and Henan?" What hope is there to recapture the Inner Nine Cities? ”

Sick and anxious, the dying official didn't bother to continue the verbal battle with the monk prince, but asked directly: "Monk Wangye, then in your opinion, how should we deal with it?" ”

"Stop the siege now!" The monk said categorically: "Let the soldiers hurry up and rest, straighten out the soldiers, horses and weapons, and then leave only part of the troops tomorrow to monitor the Wu thieves in the inner city, and the main force will go south to attack the Wu thieves in Shanxi!" Break the Shanxi Wu thieves first, relieve your worries, and then turn around and attack the inner city It's not too late! ”

Strictly speaking, this tactical plan of the monk prince is by no means wrong, if the official text can continue to lead the army to fight, it may not be that he will not carefully consider this tactic, but the official text still does not dare to rest assured, but cautiously asked: "The monk prince, are you sure that the field battle will defeat the Shanxi Wu thief?" ”

"Absolutely!" The monk replied proudly: "The situation of the Wu thieves on this road in Shanxi, this king has long been well aware, his strength is mediocre, his equipment is also very average, and his strength is only more than 10,000 people. I have exhausted the main force of the Qing Dynasty, and it is easy to break! ”

"Lord Wang, it was Yi Xing'a who told you about the situation of the Shanxi thief army, right?" Guan Wen asked more worriedly.

The monk wanted to admit it, but when the words came to his lips, he changed his mouth and said, "Of course not. Knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent, winning a hundred battles, this is the least common sense of soldiers, although the king of Japan has been in the capital, but sent a number of capable and meticulous sneaks to Baoding to spy on the enemy, it is my detailed investigation report to know. ”

The official general was skeptical, and after hesitating for a moment, he said in a weak voice: "Lord Wang, you are also gambling on the fortune of the country, if you can't defeat the Shanxi Wu thieves in the field, then we will be finished." ”

"But this king's tactical plan is more graspable!" The monk replied proudly.

I really couldn't believe the grasp of the monk and the prince, the official still shook his head, and said almost pleadingly: "Lord, the old man begs you, listen to the slave once, continue to storm the inner city, and stop the attack tomorrow morning." ”

"No, now I'm the manager!" The monk said angrily: "It's up to me how to beat me, Xiufeng, you just need to rest and recuperate!" ”

"Monk Grinqin! Shut up to this king! ”

Devil Liu, who had been listening patiently beside him, suddenly opened his mouth and shouted angrily: "You seem to have forgotten one thing, the will of the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces and the Emperor is to let the official system of Taiwan have full authority to control the three armies, and it was he who suddenly fell ill to temporarily hand over the army to you for command, and now that he is sane, he decides how to fight, you must obey unconditionally!" ”

The nobility of the bloodline can't fight for the devil six, the monk and the prince can only sneer, and the devil six also shouted again: "According to the tactical plan of the official system, now you go and command the army to continue to attack the city, and make every effort to take the inner city tonight!" If you can't take the inner city at three o'clock tomorrow, you will immediately collect troops for this king! Also, withdraw Yuan Baoheng's army and rest! ”

"Cover." The monk and the prince agreed helplessly, and obediently led the order with low eyebrows, but after walking out of the door, the monk and the prince's low eyebrows were replaced by a fierce expression, as if he was about to eat people......

…………

At the same time, in the city, after carefully understanding the battle situation ahead, Zeng Guoquan also said to Zhang Zhidong very helplessly: "There is no way, if the chaotic army fights like this again, we will not be able to survive tonight no matter what." ”

"Nine Marshal, our main casualties have just reached forty percent, how can we not even survive tonight?" Zhang Zhidong asked suspiciously.

"Forty percent are you too little?" Zeng Guoquan said with a wry smile: "I dare to boast like this, except for the elite corps under the command of King Zhennan, there is no second army in the world that can survive until forty percent of the casualties and not collapse!" ”

"If the rebel party continues to fight like this, our soldiers will be completely exhausted, the lightly wounded will become seriously wounded, and the seriously wounded will be killed directly, without the main force soldiers to take the lead, our auxiliaries will collapse, after the rebel party rushes to the city wall, not only do we have no reserves to fight back, but we must immediately retreat to the Forbidden City, otherwise, we will not even have the strength to defend the Forbidden City......."

Muttering about the situation that the self-army was about to gradually emerge tonight, Zeng Guoquan gradually pricked up his ears, looked surprised, and said suspiciously: "Strange? Did I hear it wrong? On the Chongwen Gate side, why does it seem that there are so few gunshots? ”

When he listened carefully, Zeng Guoquan's face gradually showed joy, and he said secretly: "I heard me right, could it be that the chaotic party can't hold it before us?" ”

…………

At the front-line headquarters of the Qing army at the same time, the monk prince categorically rejected the proposal of his subordinates to strengthen the Chongwenmen army, and said: "Let that side hold on a little longer, and let the rotating army rest for a while!" ”

After that, the muscles on the monk's face twitched and he added in his heart, "You must beat according to the king's method!" ”