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"If you go back to Daru Huachi, the 5,000 elite soldiers of Xinghua have already entered the city, and the 6,000 troops led by Cheng Sanbao Wanhu in Fuzhou are still on the way, and it is estimated that it will take three or four days to rush over." Although Saiptin was already the commander of the first army, he still answered honestly. He was a Persian, and although his status was much higher than that of the Han Chinese, he was still a far cry from the pure Mongols of Barbed Sand.

"Well, you pay close attention to the movements of the Fuzhou army, and when they arrive, we will attack Anxi. Li Thief has just set off from Xianyou not long ago, and he wants to capture Dehua and Yongchun and then rush to Anxi for more than ten days, which is absolutely impossible. We had plenty of time to set up an ambush and break them down on the way. Barbed Sha was still very satisfied with the mobility of the Yuan army, and after arranging the task of Saiwanhu, he returned to Yamen in a sedan chair.

In fact, the judgment made by his experience was indeed correct at the time, but he also missed Zhang Guanghua, he didn't know that because Zhang Guanghua had mastered the blasting technology, the siege process that would have taken two or three days was greatly shortened, and the rebel army also retained its strength to the greatest extent. With the passage of time, the gap between the strength of the Yi army and the Yuan army is gradually narrowing.

……

At the same time, Li Da and Lü Guangfu both accelerated their march after receiving the news, and Lü Guangfu had already led his cavalry troops back to Anxi first, and did not stop at Yongchun with the large army, and he also needed to help his cousin Lü Guangxin, who was guarding Anxi, to reconnoiter the enemy situation and inform the fortifications in the city.

……

In a hurry, Li Da finally arrived at the upper reaches of the Xixi River on the morning of the seventh day after leaving Dehua, during which he also spent two days capturing Yongchun. After crossing the river, cross the Golden Valley, and walk for another two or three hours to return to Anxi County. Since they knew that the Yuan army would send a large army to besiege Anxi, everyone was anxious, and now that they were about to return to Anxi, everyone was finally relieved.

By the time boats from nearby fishing villages were dispatched to send tens of thousands of troops across the river, it was already completely dark. For the safety of the army, Li Da decided to set up camp and rest for one night before setting off. But while they were busy, things went in the opposite direction.

"Report - Commander Li, General Lu sent someone to deliver the news, and now the person is outside the tent." The guards outside lifted their tents and walked in to report to Li Da.

"Quick." Li Da stopped what he was doing and said, he had a vague bad premonition.

"Commander Li, something is wrong. A large number of Yuan troops have begun to assemble in front of Anxi City, and it is estimated that there are 20,000 people. Commander Lu sent me out to report before the Yuan army closed the siege, telling Commander Li not to risk crossing the Golden Valley, not to fall into the ambush of the Yuan army. The soldier who gave the order obviously rushed over without stopping, and said breathlessly.

Hearing this news, Li Da's head was stunned, more than 20,000 people. The Yuan army has always had a large number of cavalry, and it is estimated that there are five or six thousand elite cavalry in the army at this time, and he only has 10,000 infantry, so he can't arrange troops in the canyon at all. Moreover, the terrain of the canyon is very convenient for ambushes, and if he forcibly supports Anxi, he will not have the slightest chance of winning. But if you don't go to support, with more than 2,000 defenders in the city, it is estimated that it will be difficult to hold the city.

In the face of such a dead end, it is estimated that only by holding Anxi can there be a way to crack it. But is it possible to defend Anxi?

……

Daying in Anxi County.

"Strategist." Seeing Zhang Guanghua coming in, everyone greeted him.

Lu Guangfu pulled Zhang Guanghua over and asked, "Strategist, what do you think about now?" The Yuan army estimates that it will start attacking early tomorrow morning, and it will be difficult to defend this city. ”

But Zhang Guanghua could only laugh at him, how could he not know. However, he still cheered up and said to everyone: "Since I received the news of the large-scale invasion of the Yuan Army, I have sent people to transport all the fire guns and bowl mouth guns of Xianyou and Dehua, and now there are fifty or sixty bowl guns in the three county towns combined. Some equipment for defending the city was also brought in, and the craftsmen in the city were also producing tools overnight. Moreover, the more than 1,000 guns accumulated in the three county towns have completed the transformation of quasi-arquebuses, which can fire fixed-loading bullets with iron pellets, although they still do not have an accurate head, but the frequency of firing has been greatly increased. ”

Seeing the generals around him with a bewildered face, he hurriedly popularized these improved firearms knowledge to them. When they learned that the frequency of firing of the modified firearm had been tripled, and the power could be doubled, they were all speechless in surprise. They didn't understand at all why adding a trigger could double the power in an instant, even though it was the same firecracker.

After instructing Lu Guangfu to first arrange for the troops to familiarize themselves with the use of the remodeled firecracker, Zhang Guanghua went to arrange logistics, and these things must not be sloppy.

In the anxious and uneasy worries of the soldiers and civilians in the city, the time came to the next day. Zhang Guanghua came to the city wall with Lu Guangfu early to inspect the situation, and dozens of bowls and mouths that were transported over were also installed on the city wall.

This time, the more than 2,000 soldiers defending the city were divided into three parts, and the 1,200 people under the command of Lü Guangfu were the first group, and the city's defense equipment and more than 800 bows were distributed to him. Shen Li, who was born as a merchant, led a total of more than 100 craftsmen and the original firecrackers to form a second group of artillery support groups, which were used to operate the more lethal bowls, and Zhang Guanghua also arranged for more than 300 young people to carry ammunition for them. The last group is the firearms group led by Lu Yishan, there are only 600 people, but they are all members of the original firearms battalion, they are very familiar with the firearms of the Yuan Dynasty, and they can also get started quickly with the reformed firearms, and because they have fewer people and more guns, Zhang Guanghua also arranged for seven or eight hundred young people to fill them with gunpowder. This "quasi-arquebus" is not like a breech gun, because it needs to be loaded from the front muzzle, and the barrel must be dredged after firing, and the rate of fire is still slow.

The only one left who did not make arrangements was Zhang Guanghua himself, his task was the heaviest, he was the commander-in-chief of the defense of the city this time, responsible for the overall arrangement of each group, logistics and the treatment of the wounded, he only left a very small reserve for himself by his side.

When the sun shot its first rays on the earth, the Yuan army stationed on the opposite side finally started. The Yuan army that had finished the formation stretched densely from the open space in front of the city into the distance, giving people a very big visual impact.

With the sound of the drum, the first wave of attacks of the Yuan army began, and the rebel army that has been besieging the city has finally tasted the taste of being besieged by others this time, but the Yuan army besieging the city this time is much more elite than them, and the army of 20,000 people is estimated to be worth fifty or sixty thousand rebel troops.

Scattered stones were launched from the catapults in the Yuan army's position, except for a small number that fell on the city wall, the others flew into the city, and occasionally when one or two Yuan army bowls came to the sound of the mouth of the gun, the city wall would be shocked by solid iron bullets.

The first Yuan army of five or six thousand people also quickly cleared the deer and firewood in front of the city, and then carried wooden planks and short ladders to lay the moat. As the Yuan army entered the firing range, the archers of the righteous army also shot a steady stream of arrows at the Yuan army.

But after all, the strength of the rebel army was limited, and after the moat was completely flattened, a large number of Yuan troops poured up, and more and more ladders were erected, and they were poured down by the rebels with hot wood oil. After leaving behind hundreds of corpses, the Yuan army finally ended this tentative attack.

The people who got a respite hurriedly pushed down the remaining ladders on the city wall, and each sat on the ground to rest.

Because the Yuan army did not have many people attacking the city this time, in order to hide his strength and induce the Yuan army to carry out an intensive attack, Zhang Guanghua did not show his firearms.

Sure enough, the Yuan army, which had taken a short rest after retreating, immediately launched a formal attack, and as tens of thousands of troops began to deploy their formations, the frequency of the Yuan army's catapults and bowl-mouth guns was significantly accelerated, thanks to the low hit rate of the ancient long-range attack equipment, otherwise a round of salvo would have to reimburse the rebels. But even so, the soldiers on the city wall would often be hit, and the archers led by Lu Guangxin had to crouch under the wall, draw their bows and then stand up and shoot, and then crouch and hide. The archers' lower and lower hit rates made the Yuan army quickly rush to the city.

Seeing Shen Li's trembling in fear, Zhang Guanghua was really afraid that he would accidentally order the bowl to be put down, so he patted him on the shoulder and made him take a few deep breaths. This time, the Yuan army has a huge advantage, and its killer weapon is only these bowls, if it is used too early to make the Yuan army have a sense of defense, then it will really be a defeat next. The more critical the moment, the more calm he must be, Zhang Guanghua's task to Shen Li is to let the first batch of people in, and after the quasi-fire gun begins to counterattack, he will shoot the second wave of the Yuan army, and use the "shotgun" to divide the Yuan army, and strive to cripple the Yuan army at one time, and this is also their only chance to win.

As more and more Yuan troops erected ladders, Lu Yishan also began to shoot, five or six hundred people lined up in two rows on the city wall according to Group A and B, he took the horns as the number, the two teams shot alternately, plus the gunners who fired did not need to load, each person had two guns, so the gunshots sounded dense. Sure enough, the Yuan army, which was still dominant just now, was instantly pressed down, squeezed under the city and unable to attack.

Seeing that the advantage was gradually being regained, the Yuan army began to beat the drum again, and more Yuan troops rushed over with ladders, and the attacks of catapults also intensified.

"Ready, the first group is released!" Without Zhang Guanghua's order, Shen Li also knew that the time had come to attack, and half of the two sets of bowl-mouth guns opened fire, sweeping down all the Yuan troops rushing in front. Sure enough, area-of-effect weapons are much more powerful than direct-fire weapons.

"The second group, let's go!" The remaining bowls were swept away by the follow-up troops of the Yuan army, and successfully intercepted the Yuan army for a while.

But after all, there were still too few people defending the city, and as time went by, the bows and arrows of the Yuan army became denser, and the rebel army defending the city was suppressed so much that they could barely raise their heads. Because the number of arrows fired at the city increased exponentially, most of the musketeers who had to poke their heads out to shoot were killed or wounded, and because the operation of the musketeers required special training, there was no new reinforcement at all. Zhang Guanghua watched the vanguard of the Yuan army climb the city wall, anxious, but there was nothing to do. Now the signs of a city break are already beginning to appear.

(3134 words)

1. Bowl-mouth guns, the Yuan Dynasty did not have cannons, only bowl-mouth guns similar to cannons, but compared with cannons, it is very small, but more like a shotgun.