The smoke of gunpowder remained in the air, replaced by an even stronger smell of blood. The Qing army had retreated, leaving behind corpses everywhere, wailing wounded, broken knives and guns, and curled flags.

Habu walked on the bloodstained battlefield with a few robes, and stabbed to death the wounded soldiers of the Qing army left on the battlefield with bayonets. The rebel soldiers did not need to show mercy, and the captives were also escorted to the mines to work as coolies to atone for their sins. Wounded soldiers cost both food and medicine, and are even more burdensome.

This is an order issued by the General Headquarters of the Eastern Expedition, and it seems that it has nothing to do with Zhu Yongxing, but the middle and senior generals all know in their hearts that this must be instructed by His Royal Highness. His Royal Highness hated Shang Kexi very much, and mentioned the Guangzhou Massacre several times in the lecture hall, and the culprits Shang Kexi and Geng Jingzhong would not die well, and even surrender would not be accepted by His Highness.

Amid screams, begs for mercy, and cursing, a Qing soldier suddenly pushed the corpse away from his head and struggled to get up from the pile of dead people.

The guy's face was covered in mud, and only the eyes that turned to indicate that he was still a living thing. There was a hissing sound in his throat, his armor soaked with blood, his left hand with five fingers spread apart and stretched forward, and his right hand still held a knife. It looks like a petty officer.

Habu sneered and surrounded him with a few soldiers. A few disdainful and cold eyes stared at the Qing soldier, who was lucky enough to not die, and the Qing soldier slowly retreated, and finally bent down, and took out the last remaining strength to make a preparatory move for a fight, his eyes of fear rolling, staring at several enemies who surrounded him.

With a snort, Habu stabbed his spear into the enemy's chest, and the soldier's knife collided with the bayonet, and he was weak and powerless, unable to shake Habu's powerful stab.

With a pop, the bayonet plunged into the chest of the Qing soldier, and Habu turned his wrist slightly. Violently withdrawn, blood splattered, and the Qing soldiers fell to their knees with a thud, and the knife in his hand also fell.

A Ming soldier flew up, and the Qing soldier's knees were still bent forward, but his body fell backwards. Lying on the ground in a strange position, blood gushing from his chest, mouth and nose, and his body was still giving out near-death convulsions.

"Be careful." Habu glanced at the blood dripping from the bayonet and reminded his men, "Maybe there are still guys hiding who are not dead, don't be hurt by the cold." ”

As soon as the words fell, a Qing soldier popped out of the corpse not far away, obviously frightened by the Ming army's massacre of wounded soldiers, and a scream that did not resemble a human voice came out of his mouth. Flee in vain.

A Ming soldier cursed, picked up his gun and aimed, Habu hurriedly stopped him, "Don't waste bullets, you can't run." ”

Sure enough, another group of Ming troops quickly blocked the way of the Qing soldiers in a fan shape, and several bayonets stabbed over, and after the screams. The Qing soldiers fell heavily with blood splattered like broken pockets.

The remaining wounded soldiers of the Qing army knew that begging for mercy was useless, and knew that they would definitely die. Many Qing officers and soldiers who were seriously injured and about to die barely stood up and scolded at the Ming army's halberd. There were also some wounded soldiers who were completely desperate, gasping for the last few breaths before dying, turning a blind eye to the Ming soldiers who were forced to kill, and they didn't even bother to struggle and resist.

The Ming soldiers were unmoved and continued to search for and kill the guns. They are often indoctrinated by missionaries in the military. The criminal behavior of the Qing soldiers made the Ming soldiers think that there was nothing wrong with their actions, and that good and evil would be rewarded, and they would not sympathize with these bastards.

"The rebel feudal soldiers are nothing more than that." Wang Sancai, the chief soldier, stood on a high place and put away his binoculars. smiled at the adjutant general beside him: "Our regiment of soldiers relies on the position like this, Shang Yi is to send a few thousand more people, and let him bleed like a river." ”

"Your Excellency is very true." The adjutant pointed into the distance, "There are also sailors, their cannons are powerful." ”

Wang Sancai nodded slightly, revealing a look of envy again. The news of the great victory in the naval battle and the commendation of the sailors has spread throughout the army. The reward is still a trivial matter, but the addition of an official to the rank of lord has made many army generals envious and jealous, and they have speculated what kind of reward His Royal Highness Min will give after recovering Guangzhou or killing Shang Kexi.

"I don't know who will get the great merit of breaking the famous city and becoming a famous king?" Wang Sancai muttered to himself.

……………

In the first battle of Jiangmen, the deputy general Li Zhizhen was hit by the artillery fire of the Ming warship and was killed on the spot, and the 5,000 soldiers and horses sent by Shang Kexi were defeated, and the wolf retreated. Although the scale of this battle was not large, the Ming army was able to hold Jiangmen, and it was still able to cut off the passage between Guangzhou and Xinhui, which was greatly beneficial to the upcoming Xinhui campaign.

Zhou Yu and Li Rong of Panyu also received assistance from the Marine Corps of the Marine Division, and as soon as their momentum became stronger, they attacked the surrounding counties and towns, and Shunde was in an emergency.

The battle situation in Guangdong seems to be proceeding according to the plan of the Ming army, but only on the side of Jieshi Suli, there have been dramatic changes.

After Jieshi Suli reached an agreement with the Ming army, he ceded the Jinxiang port of Jieshi Bay, and after the Ming army of a regiment landed, it was in the opposite direction of Suli's attack, one to the west and the other to the east. Su Li occupied Haifeng, and the Ming army occupied Boluo (now still named), and then mobilized the people, excavated fortifications, and transported supplies from Jinxiang Port, making a posture of establishing a base and holding on to changes.

Speaking of mobilizing the masses, it can be said that it was an important factor in the victory of the Ming army. The people who had suffered so much from the relocation of the border burst out with amazing enthusiasm and initiative when they helped the rescuers. In Jiangmen, thousands of people took turns to build, and in a very short period of time, they helped the Ming army dig trenches, build breast walls, and erect deer barricades; In Panyu, the people who revolted had reached 30,000, and although the weapons were rudimentary, they were very brave; The same was true in Boluo, where carts carried the burden and people carried it on their shoulders, and took on most of the work of transporting supplies from the port to the city, and helping the Ming army to dig trenches and repair fortifications.

The aspirations of the people can only be summed up in these four words. In times of helplessness, people pray for a savior, even if the savior has a bad deed, like Sully, he will be embraced. What's more, it is an upright and disciplined king, and people will not be stingy with their own strength to help them.

Perhaps because he suddenly received the support and support of so many people, Su Li became more general, his self-confidence was bursting, and the Qing army that came to conquer and suppress him also became victorious in one go. In Nantangpu, Su Li personally led 20,000 horses to meet the 5,000 Qing troops led by the general Gao Liangfu and Gao Liangzhen.

History has changed, but at this time it was a joke, but Sully did not escape the fate of history. While the two sides were fighting fiercely, Su Li was unfortunately shot in the head by the Qing army's archers and fell off his horse. For a while, the Suli tribe, which had the upper hand, was in chaos, and Gao Liangfu and Gao Liangzhen immediately rushed forward. Capture Sully and defeat Sully's army. The remnants of the defeated army fled into the Jieshi Acropolis, held on to the city, did not dare to fight, and sent people to ask the Ming army for help.

finally got the recognition of the Ming army and Zhu Yongxing's recognition. Unfortunately, all of this came to naught, and Sully, the short-lived ghost, finally paid with his life for his selfishness and hubris. If he resists the Qing army and invites the Ming army to help in the war, if he is not full of confidence, if-

Because Su Li was afraid that Zheng Chenggong would attack Jieshiwei, he strengthened and built the acropolis many times. In addition, he also built the Longya camp village of Haifeng Shitangdu (now Ketang Town, Haifeng County, Shanwei City) and the inner camp of Mr. Shidishan in Gaoluo Township, Dahu Lake of Haifeng. Although the Qing army from afar won, it was difficult to easily capture the Jieshi Acropolis, and because the Ming army was in Boluo, the remnants of Suli's army, which had foreign aid, were also desperately resisting.

……………

October 16. The battle on the Jieshi side has not yet been determined, and the Eastern Expedition has ushered in the most critical battle, and the two armies of the Ming and Qing dynasties under Xinhui City have launched a desperate battle.

At this time, there was already Xu Erxian, the chief soldier of Zhaoqing, who had failed to reinforce Gaozhou and had turned to this place, the general soldier Yunlong and Wu Jinzhong, who came from Guangzhou to strengthen the defense of Xinhui, and the deputy generals Xu Chenggong and Sheng Dengke, who had entered the city not long ago, and the total strength of the Qing army was about 15,000. The Ming army sieged about 36,000 troops, and nearly 30,000 villagers assisted them.

In terms of numbers, the Ming army had an absolute advantage. This is similar to when Li Dingguo, the king of Jin, attacked Xinhui; In terms of equipment, the Ming army did not have elephant soldiers. But the number of artillery and muskets is even better than before. In particular, after such a long period of inclined supply, the equipment rate of the whole army has reached 70 percent, and although the spearmen and sword and shield soldiers have not been dismantled, there is not much left.

The assault fleet, which had flaunted its might outside the city of Guangzhou, also entered from the Xijiang River to provide cooperation for the army's attack on Xinhui. The most important thing is the supply of heavy artillery. Unload from the ship, push closer to the city, and open fire.

The Ming army won successive battles, and although the morale of the army was greatly excited, the Qing army in the city was only slightly depressed. Shang Kexi has already given the order to die. If the city is lost, the defenders of the city will be killed, regardless of their position. In a word, people are in the city, and people are dead in the city. Even if he did not die at the hands of the Ming army, he would not be able to escape the gratifying military law.

On 17 October, the Ming army began to dig trenches to besiege the city, and tens of thousands of villagers volunteered to dig three semi-circular trenches outside the four city gates under the cover of the Ming army in just one day, thus stopping the Qing army's attempt to counterattack out of the city to the greatest extent.

On October 18, the Ming army carried out exploratory artillery bombardments in the south and west in order to measure the distance and correct the muzzles. This was followed by preparations for the siege, such as digging trenches and piling earth. It is clear that the Ming army is going to carry out the main attack in these two directions.

On the 19th, the Ming army carried out the last day of preparation and rest, all the troops and horses were in place, dozens of heavy artillery pieces were lined up in the west and south of the city, and other light artillery was also ready to stop, just waiting for the attack to advance.

The mountain rain is coming, and the wind is full of buildings. The Qing army in the city was not idle, and made various adjustments and division of labor according to the movements of the Ming army. Zhaoqing's commander-in-chief Xu Erxian repeated his old tricks, recruited young people in the city, and dug deep ditches along the city wall in the city to prevent the Ming army's tunnels from penetrating; Yunlong, Wu Jinzhong and others forcibly seized the people, organized themselves, and prepared to deal with the Ming army's "bundle green" tactics.

The so-called "bundling green" tactics was used by Li Dingguo, the king of Jin, when he attacked Xinhui City. At first, the method of "bundling green" was to tie the branches and trunks into a ball similar to firewood, first use it to plug the moat, and then stack it into a high frame to climb the city. However, the Qing army in the city often used flammable materials to throw and burn them, and later used the "bundle of green" made of sunflower trunks that did not catch fire, which made the Qing generals defending the city very headache.

In the end, the Qing army used extremely cruel and despicable methods to drive and coerce the people in the city to dig a gap in the city wall and climb out, and move the "bundle green" into the city one by one. In the face of this tactic of using innocent people as meat shields, Li Dingguo was forced to give up the attack.

It was late at night, and Li Sixing, the son of the Jin dynasty, who was temporarily promoted to the commander-in-chief of the siege, was still sitting in the camp tent without resting. The lights in the camp were bright, and Li Sixing looked at the Xinhui offensive and defensive map that he had just drawn, constantly thinking and studying.

His father, Li Dingguo, was once severely defeated under Xinhui City, and as a famous general, this is naturally an unspeakable shame. As a son, with the opportunity to wash his father's name, Li Sixing will certainly not let it go. He also understood the vague hints of Ma Bao, the king of Ruyang, and Wu Sanxing, the chief of staff, but he didn't care about any punishment.

"General, several adults have arrived." Guards report on their accounts.

"Please." Li Sixing stood up, walked to the entrance of the tent, and made a gesture of greeting.

Several people stepped into the big tent and greeted Li Sixing one by one, although the title was not high, Li Sixing was also very humble and did not dare to take it.

Wang Xie, the former engineer captain, is now the director of the engineering section of the martial arts; Qian Bangchen, as the director of the artillery department of Jiangwutang, is the same weight as Wang Xie. The latter generals were the chief officers of the artillery and engineer in the Eastern Expeditionary Army, but they were all their students.

The two directors did not arrive in the army for a long time, and each brought a group of officers who were studying at the military academy, which was both a guide and an observer, and it could also be seen that Zhu Yongxing cared about the battle.

And the artillery and engineers, according to the operational plan of the General Staff, were the key to the Xinhui campaign and Li Sixing's hope.

Seeing that the ceremony was over, everyone sat down one after another, and directly reported to Li Sixing their preparations and the layout of the siege.

Qian Bangchen said relatively briefly, it was nothing more than first far and then near, with the advance to the city wall, the various types of artillery were properly configured according to the firing range, giving full play to the power of artillery fire, not only bombarding the city, but also killing and wounding the enemy.

When it comes to the work of sappers, Wang Xie spoke in more detail. Although according to historical experience and on-site investigation, there is no problem in the implementation of tunnel excavation and tunnel blasting in Xinhui. However, there are many particulars about the difference in soil quality, the depth of the groundwater level, the location of the blasting, the time of the blasting, etc. From this point of view, the sappers are becoming more and more professional and skilled.

"In the past few days, I have tried to dig several tunnels, among which the most valuable and easy to succeed are the two in the west of the city." Wang Xie finally made a concluding speech, "If you advance to Shun Lì during the siege, it will take up to three days to dig under the city wall. ”

"Hehe, three days is already very fast, but I don't know if the walls of Xinhui are strong enough to withstand three days of artillery fire." Qian Bangchen was half joking, half serious at Wang Xie squeezed his eyes, both of them were talking about martial arts, often in contact with each other, and the relationship had become very close.

………… (To be continued......)