"General." A stummer of the sapper team asked tentatively, "If we were to seal it with bricks and stones, would it be worse than collapsing the tunnel?" ”

The tunnel blasting of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom mostly uses the collapse of the tunnel to form a closed medicine room, and Meng Jiucheng does not plan to improve it for the time being. Of course, what this backbone said is also very correct.

"That's how it should be!" Meng Jiucheng didn't want to be sure immediately, he still thought that he would keep this secret as long as possible, so after speaking, he changed the topic and said with a smile: "This time to break the city, you are the first to do it, wait for the reward!" ”

"General Xie." As soon as the words of meritorious service were said, everyone was elated, gave gifts and thanks, and put aside the mind of exploring knowledge.

……….

"How is that possible?" Shao Kai muttered to himself in a daze, unable to move for a long time.

The city was breached like this, and it didn't even take half an hour? Starting from Xicheng, the banner of urgency has spread to Nancheng. The bell in the city rang loudly, and it was as tight as a sound, and anyone could hear the panic in the bell. One can imagine the panicked soldiers who rang the bell—they must have sweated profusely and were frantically ringing the bell to alarm the whole city.

The frantically waving banners and the panicked bells made not only Shao Kai, but also the officers and soldiers around him speechless in horror. The troops on standby under the city walls were in an uproar, and the soldiers looked frightened and exchanged ears.

"Your Excellency." An officer suddenly spoke: "The enemy army on this side is a feint, and our army should divide our troops to reinforce the urgent place and destroy the enemy who enters the city." ”

Shao Kai seemed to have just woken up from a dream, raised his head and glanced at the officer, frowning and thinking. The city had been breached from the west, and it was supposed to be fought for it, but the Red Turbans were advancing so rapidly that it was clear that their own forces had already been defeated.

“…… I cherish myself, and I have to take care of the body of the concubine and the flesh and blood in my belly......" Suddenly, the words of his wife's advice flashed in Shao Kai's ears, and his train of thought was completely disrupted at once.

"My lord—" Seeing Shao Kai's hesitation, another small officer stepped forward and reminded: "If you are worried that the situation is unknown, it is better to lead your troops to withdraw to Beicheng, meet with the defenders there, and then make plans." ”

Shao Kai's eyes wandered, he sighed helplessly, and said, "Then retreat to Beicheng!" ”

"Those who descend will not be killed." "Abandon your weapon and avoid death." There were shouts and persuasions everywhere, and the defenders in the county town collapsed again and again, starting from Xicheng, like falling dominoes, which quickly stirred up a chain reaction.

The west gate was the first to be opened, followed by the south gate, and more and more Red Turban troops entered the city, and the red flag marking the occupation and victory became more and more on the city walls.

The soldiers led by Shao Kai retreated in disarray, leaving a lot of corpses outside the north gate. The ditch around the city, coupled with the half-moon-shaped blocking trench dug by the Red Turban Army, completely blocked the way for the Qing army to break through in the city.

The tide is over! The Red Turban Army on the east and west sides quickly compressed, pinching the defenders gathered in the north city, the north city gate had been lost, the red flag that had just been planted was fluttering and flying, and the defenders who were still resisting were less than 300 people left.

"That's it." Shao Kai stomped his feet, threw away the weapon in his hand, and shouted: "Don't add more unnecessary casualties, abandon your weapon and surrender!" ”

"My lord—" The captain of the pro-soldier shouted, holding a spear in his hand and looking at Shao Kai with the bruises on his neck.

"Needless to say." Shao Kai's face was gloomy, and he suddenly glared and shouted: "What are you still stunned about, quickly give the order to surrender, or you can save your life more." ”

………………

The siege of the city must be que, this is what Sun Tzu said in the Art of War, but if you believe in the book, it is better to have no book. Sticking to dogmatic understanding, without considering the actual situation, is what a mediocre general does.

Although there are many defenders in the city, they are already putting on a posture of turtles not coming out, so why leave a way for them to retreat? Besides, most of these defenders were hastily recruited, lacking in combat strength, and their fighting spirit was not strong, and they only relied on the city.

By noon, the fighting in the city was almost over, and the Red Turbans were going from house to house to arrest the defenders who had fled into the homes of the people, and the gendarmes had begun to patrol the streets to maintain military discipline.

Meng Jiucheng came to the Rizhao County Ya under the protection of his personal guards, and saw that the soldiers were carrying the corpse out, it turned out that Zhao Tiancheng fled back, stabbed his family members, and then killed himself.

Traitors, livestock. When Meng Jiucheng saw the corpse of a small child, he couldn't help frowning, and explained to the soldiers of the Red Turban Army who carried the corpse: "It was buried outside the city, and a wooden tablet was erected, on which the words traitor and livestock were written. ”

"Yes, General." A small officer respectfully agreed, loaded the bodies onto a cart, and ordered several soldiers to push them out of the city.

After explaining the matter, Meng Jiucheng stood in front of the county yamen and hesitated, shook his head with a wry smile, and walked in with his personal guards. In the years of war, where there are no people who have died unexpectedly, now is not the time to pay attention.

The hall has been cleaned up, Meng Jiucheng sat down and rested for a while, and Wang Zhongfeng, Han Shouzhong and others came separately. The battle in the city was basically over, and they no longer needed to command the battle, so they rushed to discuss their next move with Meng Jiucheng.

The statistics of the results have not yet come out, but some of the facts are already known. The regimental training made Shao Kai lead his troops to surrender, Zhao Tiancheng committed suicide, the warehouse was intact, and he did not suffer losses.

Being able to obtain the supplies and money in the warehouse is probably the biggest good news. Because the city was broken too quickly, the defenders did not have time to destroy and burn it.

"You all work hard, and go and lead your own troops and horses, according to the prior consultation, and do a good job of finishing the work after the destruction of the city, and then you can rest in peace." Meng Jiucheng felt that if he wanted to take the next step, it was best to decide after the results were counted, that is, tomorrow.

"Yes, follow the general's orders." Although everyone had doubts in their hearts, as soon as Meng Jiucheng opened his mouth, he obviously didn't want to talk in detail, so he knew the opportunity to retire.

Seeing everyone away, Meng Jiucheng sat alone in the chair and thought about it for a long time.

Junan County and Rizhao County have been taken down, forming a posture of being surrounded by mountains and seas. If you continue to open up and attack, there are Juzhou and Mizhou (now Zhucheng area) in the north, and Yizhou (now Linyi City) and Haizhou (now Lianyungang area) in the south, how to choose?

According to the original idea, Meng Jiucheng was preparing to expand south. However, according to the recent investigation, Haizhou is an important town on the border between Song and Jin, although the Jin army is insufficient and cannot fully control the state border, but Jin Jinglu has made Abuhan and Nabula to defend Haicheng, and there are still more than 3,000 troops.

These more than 3,000 people are regular troops, and their combat strength cannot be underestimated. If it is easy to defend the city, if it is fought in the field, and there are Jin defenders in Yizhou and Pizhou, the Red Turban Army is not sure of victory, and there is still the danger of being flanked.