Time passed little by little in the bloody and tragic battle, and soon it was close to noon. www.biquge.info Another morning of fierce fighting passed, but the Qing army still failed to completely capture the city wall, and the troops who broke into the city retreated under the counterattack of the Ming army, and the general situation returned to before the battle. The red flag of Huguang Town still fluttered at the head of the city, but the city wall was more dilapidated than the place where the battle began.

Near noon, the officers and men on both sides had been fighting for a long time, and they were already showing signs of exhaustion, and they all needed to eat something and rest to recover their strength. So, with the order of Dodor to withdraw his troops, the morning's battle officially came to an end. Naturally, the Ming army in the city did not have the strength to go out of the city to pursue, so they did not act rashly, except for the seriously wounded who were carried to the city for treatment, most of the rest of the people rested in place, waiting for the men to move the food to the position. The auxiliaries did not miss this precious opportunity to armistice, and seized the time to repair the gaps in the city wall, and how much could be filled.

The siege failed again, and although Duoduo's psychology was a little irritated and agitated, it had not yet reached the point of exploding. He knew that Pang Yue's troops in the city had already experienced several days of fighting a few days ago, and they had not had time to fully recover, and this time after the continuous attack of his own army, even if they held the city wall, they were probably already exhausted. As long as he can hold on and continue to increase the intensity of the attack, the collapse of the Ming army is a matter of time, and perhaps he can completely take the city wall and attack the city before it gets dark today.

Although Duoduo had heard Kong Youde and others say that judging from the fortifications dug by Pang Yue's troops at Wanshou Bridge, this time the Ming army was afraid that the Ming army would build a large number of fortifications in the city to delay the Qing army's offensive. But Duoduo didn't take it to heart at all, and just laughed. Because it is clear that as long as the city walls are taken, the cannons are thrown at the head of the city, and the cannons are fired at the city, no matter what kind of fortifications will be turned into powder.

In short, Duoduo has made up his mind that this time he must not return in vain, and must attack the city to completely kill Pang Yue and his subordinates. First, Pang Yue, an enemy who posed a huge threat to the Qing Dynasty, must not be let go. Second, just leave. Not only can he lose face, but he also has a series of bad effects. If it takes so much trouble to surround Pang Yue's troops in this small city but can't attack it alive, it can only be a joke if it spreads, and it will also arouse the will of the remnants of the Ming forces in the rest of the region to resist.

After a hurried lunch, Duoduo called all the senior generals in the army and made arrangements like this.

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After noon, the soldiers of Huguang Town in the city had just finished eating and had not rested for long when the Hongyi cannon of the Qing army roared again. The smell of gunpowder and blood in the morning has not yet dissipated, and the dilapidated Hengshan county town has ushered in the baptism of Qing army shells.

This time. The intention of the Qing army's artillery bombardment changed to the same as yesterday, mainly to destroy the city wall. Multiple cannons concentrated on a certain part of the city wall, causing the broken city wall masonry to splash and crumble. It seems that the defeat of the previous two attacks has made them realize that the openings in the walls are not wide enough and not enough.

The city walls of Hengshan County, which had been in dilapidated condition under the shelling of the Qing army, had been subjected to such a fierce bombardment that the overall situation had deteriorated dramatically. The original gaps and cracks are rapidly expanding, and some of the remaining unstable areas are also showing signs of collapse. In such a situation, the defenders at the head of the city did not dare to hide close to the base of the city wall after leaving the city, but they did not hide too far. In order not to be caught off guard when the Qing army infantry launched an attack, they were just on standby more than ten steps behind the city wall.

The cannon roared, and the huge sound overshadowed the tide. The artillery of the Qing army seemed to have once again exerted yesterday's spirit of not being afraid of explosions, and manipulated the cannon to continue to bombard the city wall, and the gap between firing was shortened to the limit. In the dust, the whole city is like a lonely boat in the ocean, struggling to support itself under the impact of waves from many directions.

……

With a loud bang and a torrent of earth and rock swept down. On the southern wall of Hengshan County, there is a third large gap between the inside and outside of the city. Subsequently, the same situation also appeared on the north and east city walls, plus the gap opened by the Qing army passing by Hengshan County the day before yesterday, the gap on each city wall reached three. The total width adds up to seventy or eighty steps.

After the collapse of the city wall, the cheers of the Qing soldiers outside the city came one after another, although they had attacked the city wall and were also repelled by the Ming army, but they knew that this time the opening of more and wider gaps meant that they could invest more troops at one time, and the defensive strength of the Ming army in the city would be more stretched. Just push harder, and victory is just around the corner!

As soon as the cannon fire stopped, the war drums and horns in the Qing army's formation sounded again. Immediately followed by a tsunami-like earth-shattering cry, the Qing army in three directions once again launched an attack on Hengshan County.

……

The situation of the officers and soldiers of Huguang Town in the city was similar to what Duoduo had predicted, and they had suffered a lot of losses in the battle of Wanshouqiao before they had time to recover, and the loss of a large number of combat backbones had caused the overall combat effectiveness to decline a lot. In order to maintain their overall combat effectiveness, the commanders of the Ming army at the higher level had to transfer some troops from other combat units in order to maintain their overall combat effectiveness. As a result, although the shortage of soldiers has been alleviated to a certain extent, the cooperation between the new soldiers and the existing soldiers is far less tacit than before. This time, it encountered two fierce attacks by the Qing army in Hengshan County, and although they were temporarily repulsed, their own losses gradually increased. In addition, the special terrain in the city made it difficult for the officers and men of Huguang Town to give full play to the advantages of the hard-trained phalanx operations, and as time went by, it became more and more difficult to resist and counterattack the Qing army.

Fortunately, Pang Yue has always been sympathetic to the soldiers and has a clear distinction between rewards and punishments, and the morale of the officers and men has not yet reached the point of being low and sluggish, coupled with the constraints of strict military discipline and the conditioned reflex formed by high-intensity training in peacetime, the whole army still maintains a stronger combat effectiveness than the rest of the Ming army. But no matter how brave a person is, he will always feel tired, and if he has not been fully rested, he will usher in continuous high-intensity battles, and no matter how elite the army is, it will not be able to last forever.

on this. Pang Yue secretly pinched a handful of sweat, but he also knew that now was the critical moment, his own army was tight, and the Qing army would not be much better, it depended on which side could survive to the end. Whoever holds out longer will be the winner.

……

Inside and outside the three city walls, there were endless shouts of killing, and the military flags of the Eight Banners of various colors and the fiery red military flags of Huguang Town confronted each other on the battle line and shook violently. Under it, the sword flashed, and the flesh and blood flew. The screams of the soldiers on both sides converged. As the battle gradually heated up, almost all the officers and men of the two armies were red-eyed, and they threw away all distractions, just vigorously waving the weapons in their hands to kill the enemies on the opposite side one by one.

Behind a gap in the southern city wall, Liu Wuzheng, the commander of the Gangfeng Battalion, led the soldiers in this bureau to resist the attack of the Qing soldiers. The combat effectiveness of these Eight Banners soldiers who came up like a tide was quite fierce, Liu Wu didn't know how many enemies he had killed, the fine iron mask was stained with a large amount of dried blood, the big knife in his hand was curled, and the iron armor on his body also appeared many deep slash marks. There are even several broken spots. But the Qing soldiers still rushed up in a steady stream, and it seemed that they would never be able to kill.

"Ahh Liu Wu, whose eyes were red, roared. Holding a shield to block a spear stabbed on the left side, the big knife in his hand was wrapped in a strong wind and slammed straight at a Qing soldier directly opposite. The Qing soldier couldn't dodge, and was stabbed alive and was killed on the spot. But before Liu Wu could make the next move, he saw from the afterglow that three more lightning-like white lights were stabbing from the right front. At this time, Liu Wu's moves were already old, and no matter how fast he moved, it was impossible to avoid these three attackers at the same time.

Just as he was subconsciously preparing to make a final fight and die with the enemy, a figure next to him flashed over and cut open the outermost spear. And almost at the same moment, he blocked Liu Wu's side.

After the sonorous sound of the blades colliding and the muffled sound of steel tearing**, several bloody arrows shot into the air. The person who came was one of Liu Wu's guards, and he saved Liu Wu's life at the cost of his own life.

The war situation is urgent, life and death are only in the blink of an eye, and there is no room for negligence. Liu Wu didn't even have time to shout the name of this loyal subordinate, but there was a little more crystal light in his blood-red eyes, and he roared and continued to devote himself to the fierce fight.

……

"Withdraw!" I don't know how long the fierce fighting lasted. Liu Wu finally gave this order to his subordinates, which made him extremely unwilling. This order was sent by Lu Qiwu, the commander who defended the south gate, and all the Ming officers and soldiers who resisted the Qing army at the city wall were all withdrawn to the first line of defense behind the city wall. Although Liu Wu was unwilling, the military discipline in Huguang Town would never allow the phenomenon of battlefield disobedience, and those who violated the order would be sentenced to death.

Location of the South Gate. Although the officers and men of the Gangfeng Battalion and the 1,000 Corps of the Huashan Battalion, which had been replenished, resisted with all their might, there were too many Qing troops who had no choice but to rush over, and the Gangfeng Battalion had already suffered great losses before, and the combat effectiveness of the officers and men of the Huashan Battalion was relatively weak. The Eight Banners had already begun to focus on attacking those weak points on the defensive line, preparing to divide and surround the Ming army near the city wall, and break through each one. However, the countermeasures of the Ming army became more and more difficult, and they could no longer stop the intentions of the Qing army.

Faced with such a situation, after obtaining Pang Yue's consent, Lu Qiwu ordered to retreat to the first line of defense, preparing to stabilize his position first and wait for an opportunity to counterattack.

……

Behind the south gate wall, on the first line of defense made of earth and stone, the artillery of the fire battalion that had been guarding here for a long time was in full formation, and the medium artillery and tiger squat cannon of the Gate Furlong machine had been loaded, and the muzzles of the black hole were aimed at the Qing soldiers who poured into the city from several large gaps. At this time, most of the Ming officers and soldiers who had withdrawn from the city wall had taken refuge behind the fortifications made of earth, stone and sandbags.

At the command of the officer, the artillerymen quickly probed the lit torches towards the fire door.

"Fire!"

"Boom!" "Boom!" ……

After a loud bang, the Celestial Maiden's scattered shotguns swept the Qing soldiers on the way to the ground, and dense flesh and blood sprayed into the sky and fell again, like an incomparably bloody rainstorm. But the Qing army behind continued to rush forward, and constantly changed the route, dodging the Ming artillery. After pouring into the city from the gap in the city wall, some Qing soldiers ran along the horse road to the head of the city, trying to suppress the Ming army by virtue of their height advantage.

When all the troops on the front line of the city wall were withdrawn to the first line of defense, Lu Qiwu breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't pay much attention to the Qing army's attempt to occupy the city. Because the Qing soldiers who attacked the south gate had relatively few firearms in their hands, it was difficult for the Hongyi cannons to move to the city, and the threat to the Ming army in the city was very limited if they only used bows and arrows. In addition, the parapet wall facing the side of the city head facing the city is low, which can't cover a person at all, and the Qing soldiers who climb the city head will become the target of the fire guns. Thinking of this, Lu Qiwu even faintly gave birth to a hint of ridicule: these brainless bastards are purely rats, and they don't remember to eat or fight.

In the past, the Qing army did not fail to attack the city, but they were all driven out without exception. Therefore, Lu Qiwu felt that there should be no exception this time, although the soldiers were more tired than before. But as long as you are careful, there is nothing wrong with it. He planned to repel this round of charges from the Qing army first, and wait until the officers and soldiers who had retreated to the fortifications had adjusted before launching a counteroffensive to recapture the city wall.

However, this time the situation has obviously changed, and the Qing army moved much faster than the previous times. Just when Lu Qiwu commanded his officers and soldiers to firmly contain the momentum of the Qing troops and prepare to launch a counterattack in one go, an accident happened.

"My lord, the cannon of the Tartars!" A general next to Lu Qiwu pointed ahead and shouted. Although the soldiers of the Ming army did not dare to make loud noises at will due to the constraints of military discipline, their faces changed.

Passed over the head of the black soldier in front of him. I saw that at the gap in the city wall, several Hongyi cannons had appeared at the top of the slope. And it was being pushed by a large number of auxiliaries to start the downhill and quickly come to the city. In order to facilitate carrying and movement, the Qing army, of course, would not drag heavy artillery such as eighteen-pounder guns, but carried Hongyi three-pounder guns. But at such a close distance, what is the difference between a three-pounder gun and an eighteen-pounder gun? A cannon bombarded past, and it was also splashed with a rain of fine blood.

"Hurry up and reload the gun crews! Keep firing! Lu Qiwu yelled at the officers and men of the firearms team and the gunners who had just finished firing.

As a narrow strip of white smoke rose from the first row of firefighters leaning against the breastwork, they fired a volley at the Qing soldiers. The Qing soldiers erected large cowhide shields and formed a shield wall to block, although many people were still defeated. But no one retreated easily. At the same time, the artillerymen of the Agni Battalion hurriedly seized the time to clean the chambers, took out the original sub-guns, and replaced them with new ones.

Ahead, the Qing soldiers near the gap in the city wall quickly dispersed to both sides, and several Hongyi cannons had reached the bottom of the slope and entered the city. The muzzles of the guns were aimed at the Ming officers and soldiers on the first line of defense. Next to the cannon, the artillery of the Qing army had already raised the torches, and the seemingly ordinary flames exuded such a strong aura of death at this time. Apparently, they had already loaded their ammunition beforehand.

"Lie down!" Lu Qiwu let out a shout the moment the torches in the hands of the Qing artillerymen came out. He knew that his artillery had just closed the guns and plugged in the bolts, and it would definitely be too late to fire before the Qing army.

The command to "lie down" suddenly sounded one after another, and quickly spread to both sides along the entire defense line, but before it could be transmitted back and forth, several fires flashed in front of it.

"Boom!" "Boom!" …… After a loud bang, dense shotguns came overwhelmingly, and many Ming officers and soldiers who had not had time to lie down turned into a rain of blood flying in the sky in an instant.

……

"I want to see your lord! You're all out of the way! ......" Just as Pang Yue was looking solemnly at the front line from the top of the tower, a rough shout suddenly came from under the tower.

Listening to this voice, who else could there be if it wasn't Shi Youliang? Pang Yue turned around and said to Wei Yuan, who was standing at the top of the stairs, "Let General Shi Shen come up!" ”

"Yes!" Wei Yuan went down the stairs after agreeing.

After a while, the wooden staircase sounded again, and Shi Youliang went up to the top of the tower in a hurry, and after coming to Pang Yue and hugging him, he shouted impatiently: "My lord, on behalf of the soldiers of the Flying Tiger Battalion, I request to fight!" The brothers of the rest of the battalions, including the Huashan battalion, went to war! Our Flying Tiger Battalion can only watch from the sidelines, what kind of thing is this? Now that the battle situation in the city is so critical, and the Tartars outside the south gate and the east gate have invaded the city, don't you really need us? ”

The sound was so loud that even the fierce shouts and killings in the distance and the sound of cannons from time to time could not completely suppress it, Pang Yue didn't care about the spit stars that splashed on his face, and said: "Zhou Ming, don't be anxious......"

"I know what the adults are going to say!" Shi Youliang interrupted Pang Yue's words, "The Flying Tiger Battalion is a cavalry battalion, and it is not convenient to use due to terrain restrictions, so there will be opportunities to fight in the future." It is not easy for Huguang Town to train a cavalry, and good steel has to be used on the blade. My lord, isn't that it? If so, don't be in a hurry to speak, I'll say a few more words. Although it is true that we are cavalry, we will not be able to fight without getting off the horse! How long has it been since you've played us? The first few times we fought against the Tartars, you made us wait in the back and watch the rest of the battalion of brothers fight with the Tartars! This time, it's still like this! When I was camping the day before, I heard a few rabbit cubs from the Gangfeng Camp say a few cool words about the Flying Tiger Camp when they passed by our camp, and if I had put it before, I would have slapped it a long time ago! But that time I didn't have this face, those rabbit cubs were wrapped in bloody gauze, and my old stone and all the brothers in the Flying Tiger Camp were clean. As soon as I saw this, the fire in my heart couldn't be raised, and only grievances, discomfort and shame remained! In short, this time we can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch the rest of the battalion of brethren bleed, the battle is urgent, and it is the time when people are needed, and the adults will not think that we are not even as good as the auxiliaries after we get off the horse, right? As for the number of cavalry soldiers, adults don't have to worry, when the battle is over, as long as my old stone is not dead, I will definitely train more cavalry for Huguang Town! ”

Shi Youliang's words like cannon fire already had a bit of a rebellious flavor in the hierarchical army, and even Zhang Yunli on the side frowned slightly.

But Pang Yue's face remained unchanged, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Okay, since this is what all the soldiers of your Flying Tiger Battalion mean, I can't refrain from it again. It just so happens that the battle situation at the south gate is urgent, and they seem to be a little unable to hold on, so your camp will go to support them, and cooperate with them to drive the Qing captives who entered the city out of the city! ”

"Yes! Look, my lord! Shi Youliang hugged his fists and promised to leave in a hurry.

……

At the first line of defense behind the south gate, Lu Qiwu was worried about the Qing artillery in front, and from time to time he carried out a round of bombardment, killing and wounding a large number of his own officers and soldiers, and also making the attack of the Qing army's infantry more and more smooth. Although Lu Qiwu wanted to organize forces to carry out a counteroffensive and drive the Qing army's artillery out of the city, he had no choice but to have enough troops at hand to maintain the existing defensive line.

"Lu Heizi, what the are you doing with a long face? Who owes you money? Suddenly, Shi Youliang's voice came.

Lu Qiwu turned his head and saw that it was not only Shi Youliang who came, but also more than 1,550 soldiers from the Flying Tiger Battalion, none of whom rode horses, but came on foot.

"Big man Shi, don't you want to leave all the horses behind in the dog's day? What are you doing here? Lu Qiwu asked.

"Of course I didn't come to see you, and you're not a yellow flower girl." Shi Youliang said with a big grin, "My lord, let us Flying Tiger Camp come to assist you!" Get the Tartars out! ”

"Good!" Lu Qiwu didn't care about arguing with Shi Youliang anymore, and said, "Come here, I'll have a brief word with you!" ”

……

A quarter of an hour later, taking advantage of the gap between the loading of the Qing artillery, a large number of Ming officers and soldiers rushed out from behind the fortifications with shouts and rushed towards the Qing army on the opposite side. Floating in the air is a flag of the Flying Tiger Battalion embroidered with winged tigers.

……

The battle continued into the evening, and Duoduo's face became more and more gloomy. He didn't expect that the breakthrough made in this attack was still not large, and all the troops that attacked the south gate had been driven out. Although the forces that attacked the east gate and the north gate were still in a stalemate with the Ming army, it was already this time, and at least there would be no big breakthrough today.

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