Zheng Zunqian returned to the camp and hid in a small tent, where snoring soon sounded like thunder.

The guards outside the door were stunned, there was such a general soldier, the Ming army rushed to the head of Xuyi City one after another five or six miles away, and the sound of cannons and guns could wake up the dragon king hiding at the bottom of Hongze Lake, this Zheng general soldier seemed to fall asleep with his head on the pillow.

Zheng Zunqian slept very soundly, he and Sun Zhijing had a lot of battlefield experience, and after only looking at it for a while, he knew that Xuyi City was not a bone to gnaw on.

Sun Zhijing coordinated the battle situation at the gate of the camp.

There were very few young people in the Ming army who had just gone to the battlefield, and they fought in array outside Xuyi City as they did in the attack on the Yangzhou city wall last year.

Wooden boats shuttled back and forth through the moat, bringing the guns over and the wounded back. Each ship can seat 50 people, and more than 40 boats can transport more than 2,000 people each round trip.

Even a few iron cannons at the head of the city are extremely threatening, and the trajectory of the iron ball flight cannot be seen in the dark sky, but the moat is stirred up from time to time to make huge splashes, and the soldiers running on the shore are often knocked down by the sudden iron ball.

The place where Sun Zhijing was was also within the bombardment range of the iron cannon at the head of Xuyi City, and the nearest iron ball that landed was only two or three hundred steps away from him. His own soldiers persuaded him to retreat many times, but he refused, and with the courage to siege the city, a timid general soldier could not become a general. However, the main reason is that there are only three iron cannons on the north wall of Xuyi

After an hour of tug-of-war, the only thing that pleased Sun Zhijing was that the defenders at the head of the city had been completely suppressed by the Ming army. The Ming army was well-trained, but it was the firepower advantage brought by the flint gun that contributed to it.

The government soldiers began to lay pontoon bridges in the moat, and the Ming army set up ladders again, hoping to continue the war to the city.

The battle of ascending to the city was bloody and fierce, and the shouts of killing at the head of the city had just risen, and the flames on the official road in the east were soaring into the sky.

After hearing the announcement, Sun Zhijing raised the clairvoyant mirror and looked at it for a moment, and immediately ordered: "Call Zheng Zongbing up"

The snoring in the big tent continued, and it took a shout from the soldiers to wake Zheng Zunqian from his sleep.

"My lord, the soldiers and horses of the headquarters have arrived."

Zheng Zunqian immediately turned over and got up, he fell asleep quickly, and his wakefulness was also very fast. Walking out of the camp and looking into the distance, a glimpse of the edge is swimming over.

"My people are coming." Zheng Zunqian's right hand clenched the hilt of the knife, and his cultivation spirit was all for the Xuyi City in front of him. Victory was needed right away, and he couldn't afford to miss this opportunity.

Never

The Qing soldiers at the head of Xuyi City also appeared with reinforcements from the Ming army, and they were panicked and were put on the head of the city by several Ming soldiers. It's like a red-hot soldering iron thrown into a tank of clear water, bursting with boiling bubbles and smoke.

Then ......, then calm again.

Historically, siege warfare has mostly been a war of attrition, with one soldering iron, two soldering irons, three soldering irons ......, and the strength of the defenders is slowly consumed in this way.

Zheng's soldiers and horses settled down on the southeast side of Xuyi City first, and did not rush to the battlefield, the soldiers buried the pot to cook, had a full meal, and waited for the dawn.

When the rising sun appeared, the fighting slowed down a little.

Wooden ships returned from the north bank of the moat.

The soldiers carried a roll of earth-colored shrouds onto the boat, and two people carried down the corpses on a group of rolled wooden boats. The corpses were neatly arranged on the grass west of the camp.

In recent years, the Ming army has been preaching loyalty and friendship, and not losing the corpses of their companions is a military order implemented by the General's Office from the beginning of the year.

A few years ago, most of the Ming soldiers could not even get their salaries, and they made a living by plundering the people whenever they went to war. At that time, the effect of emphasizing military discipline was very limited, that is, the anti-shaving order made the guards of the family feel bloody for a while. When it came to the Northern Expedition, if there was no military merit and reward temptation, a few people could go into battle on an empty stomach to kill the enemy

The rewards and punishments in the army are clear, and the rewards for military merits can at least maintain the life of the family, so that the soldiers can know the shame and not despise themselves as warriors.

Zheng Zunqian had already returned to the headquarters to arrange the siege of the city, and Sun Zhijing went to the corpse collection site and the wounded barracks to inspect it.

Anyone who covered their faces with homespun cloth was a soldier who had been confirmed dead, and all they saw was a yellow cloth tube, some of which oozed dark brown blood. The secretary of the army is in the process of registering the deceased, and after the death of a military attache above 100 general commanders, he must report to the military department for cancellation of his name.

In the middle of the night of the siege, nearly 1,000 soldiers were lost, and if the pressure continued in this way, either Xuyi City collapsed, or the Ming army collapsed itself.

After walking through the corpse collection ground, and then to the wounded barracks, it is very noisy, but it is more popular because of it.

The Ming army did not have the idea of letting the Qing soldiers in the city take a breath, and Zheng Zunqian's soldiers and horses crossed the river through the pontoon bridge and took over part of the battlefield. Under the scorching sun, there are some that cannot be hidden, and the battle is much bloodier than the night.

The Ming army of 20,000 surrounded Xuyi, and the battlefields were opened on all four city walls. However, only the south gate and the east gate are real attacks, and the west gate and north gate are all full of soldiers mixed with government soldiers to contain them.

There were Jurchens in the city, but the main force defending the city was the Han Chinese.

Sun Zhijing and Zheng Zunqian had never seen a Han person work so hard for the Manchu court, so they guessed that it might be someone from the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty, right? It doesn't sound like an accent.

Zheng Zunqian first lined up two thousand people, and his military orders were so simple and straightforward that Sun Zhijing couldn't believe it.

"Each team will return to the camp after cutting off ten heads, and you will be recorded in the military exploits. Otherwise, they will all die under the city of Xuyi," Zheng Zunqian shouted, his deepest understanding of marching and fighting lies in the word "brave", and the brave wins when they meet on a narrow road.

The Qing soldiers soon appeared, and the formation of the new soldiers and horses attacking the city was a little scattered, and the cooperation between the soldiers was not as good as the previous Ming army, but the fighting spirit was more intense.

The battle lasted from early morning to noon, and Sun Zhijing couldn't bear to look at it directly.

Every half hour or so, wooden boats would carry corpses back. Boatload after boat of corpses, he estimated that Zheng Bu should have died more than a thousand people in battle. He dispatched troops and horses to take over the position of Zheng's soldiers, and rode the wilted black horse to Zheng Zunqian.

The clairvoyant mirror in Zheng Zunqian's hand was lifted and lowered, raised and lowered.

When he saw Sun Zhijing coming over, he beckoned: "Brother Sun, you came just in time, I see that the defenders in the city are tired." ”

Sun Zhijing euphemistically persuaded: "Perform your respects, if you continue to attack like this, the loss of the soldiers will be too great." ”

"Ah" Zheng Zunqian put down the clairvoyant mirror, very surprised to hear Sun Zhijing say this, "Before sunset, if you and I don't capture Xuyi, what else are you talking about rewarding meritorious deeds?" ”

Sun Zhijing pointed to the battlefield a few miles away, shook his head and said: "It's impossible before sunset, although the defenders are tired, they still have some strength." ”

Zheng Zunqian couldn't help but remind: "General Feng's military order is like this"

Sun Zhijing said: "Although this is the case, General Feng does not know the strength of the defenders of Xuyi City, and I will tell the truth to the past, and General Feng will not force you and me."

It is not surprising that Sun Zhijing has this idea, he is diligent and silent, but he has always been reasonable and can listen to the advice of his subordinates. If he served under Zuo Ruo, he would not dare to shirk the military order by his courage.

Zheng Zunqian shook his head slightly at first, but in the end, he still couldn't hold back, and said sarcastically: "If you go to tell the truth, I won't say it." ”

Two people are on the same battlefield, if the statements are different, how can Feng Qin believe it.

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